The Tail of Merlin
by Orcinus234
Summary: There are prophecies about him. A warlock who will guide the young King Arthur on the quest to bring balance back to Camelot. The most powerful Warlock whose magic will be achieved at birth. Emrys. Merlin. What the prophecies neglected to mention, was that he does not take the form of a man.
1. Chapter 1

It's a beautiful day. The sky is mostly clear, the grass is a healthy green, the birds are singing and the people are chattering in the town below the castle. With his enhanced hearing, he can hear them, he can't hear what they're saying, but he can hear their muffled voices. He stands on the hill for a few minutes simply taking in the view with it's smells and sounds. His large paws slightly sink into the soil.

A black wolf with intriguing blue eyes. A dire wolf.

Dire wolves are not listed as magical beings – all except Merlin, but that's a secret few know – and so no one has thought to kill him. If they did, they are just a hunter. On his back sits a leather pack made specifically for him that carries some blankets and books and other inedible stuff. In his mouth is a white envelope aged slightly by it's travels.

This is the largest mass of people that Merlin has ever been near. He's not even in the town yet! He is obligated to walk into Camelot, and not just because he needs to find Gaius. His ears slightly flatten and his eyes narrow at the reminder of his secret mission. Deciding he has postponed his trip into the town long enough, he starts walking down the hill, his tail swaying with his movements.

The town is lot louder than what Merlin could hear from up on the hill – no surprise – and while everyone might give him quizzical looks and mothers pull their children by the arms to keep them from running up to pet him, no one actually tries to stop him from walking deeper into the town. The guards at the gate had told him the way to the court physician's chambers after he showed them his envelope, but Merlin finds himself following a crowd of people who make their way to the courtyard just inside of the castle gate, ushered by guards with trumpets. Might as well see what the people here do. Probably should, if the King is giving a speech. But when the accused magic user is led out in chains and steps onto the small stage where the executioner stands, Merlin finds himself wanting to leave. He somehow manages to steel himself into place. King Uther's words are muffled, ignored by the black dire wolf who stares intensely at the prisoner. He seems to be… accepting of his death. He sheds no tears, isn't quivering like a leaf, staring down at the block of wood where he will soon lay his head to be severed. He smells brave. He doesn't regret what he has done, but he doesn't smell of death or blood. The executioner and the block do, but not the prisoner. He hasn't killed nor harmed a soul.

Merlin is so caught up in reading the man's energy, he barely processes that the King is wrapping up his short speech. At least not until the subject of the speech and Merlin's study is being forced onto his knees and his head forced to the wood block. Merlin looks up towards where King Uther stands on a balcony, dressed for show and his right hand raising in time with the executioner's ax-thing, or the executioner raising his ax in time with the king's hand. Merlin forces himself to watch it come down upon the accused, resisting the urge to flinch when it cracks against the wood, unlike the humans who let out an assortment of sounds as well as turn away.

They all start to walk away as the King says a few more words, something about a celebration for twenty years of peace without the interference of magic. But before he could finish his speech, a sharp wail of a woman pierces the air. Looking as best he can through the mass of people, he sees hints of a rag clothed elderly woman. Her smell is familiar, not a smell of a person he has met before, but rather… similar to someone else who he also hasn't exactly met. A small clearing is formed around her as she stares up at the king with tears streaking her aged cheeks. Her voice is cracked by age and sobs. Merlin feels obligated to listen to what she says. He senses some strange energy surrounding her. He senses… magic. The king is also a part of her attentive audience, his brows furrowing at her outburst. Merlin can't tell if it's anger or confusion that furrows his brows, maybe it's both.

"There is only one evil in this land, and it is not magic," she wails. "It is you! With your hatred and your ignorance! You took my son!"

The accused's mother. Merlin slightly crouches into a defensive stance when he feels her magic strengthen. She stands taller, not backing down from King Uther's glare.

"And I promise you, before these celebrations are over, you will share my tears. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth…" she continues with wrath lining her voice.

Her magic is stronger and Merlin has enough sense not to reveal himself by challenging it.

"… a son for a son."

If the king wasn't furious before, he definetly is now. Merlin stands his ground, hidden behind the people. He stays to the edge of the crowd no matter how much he wants to pounce from all the magic and dark emotions swirling in the thick air.

"Seize her!" King Uther booms.

The guards start advancing through the crowd, onlookers frantically waving their limbs in an attempt to get out of their ways. Over all the yelling and clanging of weapons and armor, no one would be able to hear the elderly woman chant a spell, but with his wolf hearing, Merlin can. It's a transportation spell, so he stays put, but can't keep himself from growling. There is a little kid to his right – what is a kid doing watching an execution?! – and driven by instincts, Merlin moves to get between the spell chanting woman and the small terrified child. She disappears into a cloud of smoke. When the smoke clears, everyone chatters in hushed voices. Merlin continues to stare at the spot where the elderly woman once stood, only looking away and behind him when he feels a little hand patting his hind leg. The little kid still looks scared but otherwise looks curious as she pats his fur. A mother walks up and hurriedly pulls her away.

"Bye, bye wolf," says the little girl as she is dragged away, waving the tiny hand that is not in the death grip of her mother.

He returns the gesture using his tail. The little girl giggles at the sight.

People start pouring past him. Some stare at him or jump from surprise at seeing him in the square, others are still to shocked by the events that had just unfolded to really be bothered by the presence of dire wolf. He stands there for a while, watching the people pass by and then looking up at the balcony where the King had stood, who obviously having left seeing that he isn't there anymore. With one last look to the stand where the executioner and some darkly dressed men are moving the body and the basket with the accused's head, Merlin turns around and follows the crowd. It's about time he actually went to find Gaius.

He feels someone's eyes on him from one of the castle windows, he looks up and sees a dark haired maiden in green. They just stare at each other before Merlin thinks it best to continue walking.

Since Gaius is the court physician, his workplace is obviously within the castle walls. He shows his envelope to the guards with Gaius's name written neatly on it, and one of the guards opens the wooden door for him. He walks through the hall ways guided by what he remembers of Gaius's scent when he came to visit Merlin's past _owner_ a few years ago. It smells like Gaius has been out today… many times, so there might not be any work for Merlin to do today. He reaches the door labelled 'Court Physician' – because he can read, he's not as stupid as dog mind you – and looks both ways to make sure the coast is clear. Gaius is the only one here who knows about his gift. No one is around as far as Merlin can see and hear. He looks at the door knob, because of course none of the doors here are going to have handles, and lets the golden electricity fizzle within him. His blue eyes glow gold for a second and in the next moment, the door is open a smidge. He puts his snout to it pushes it open the rest of the way. Inside, he sees no hint of Gaius but can smell him as clear as day. There are the scents of other people who have passed through and one that is fairly recent, but it is past office hours so they should be gone. He closes the door with his hind leg before he finally speaks.

"Gaius?" He calls out.

Magic has given him the ability to speak just like a man.

He receives no response, but hears someone shuffling towards the door to what Merlin guesses to be a guest room or a storage room. The latter option makes more sense. Merlin starts walking to the room.

"Gaius? It's Merlin. Sorry for my tardiness, there was a little event in the squ…"

Merlin doesn't finish his sentence when he sees the person on the other side of the door. It's not Gaius.


	2. Chapter 2

Gwen never really liked watching executions, she couldn't even bear to watch someone get whipped. Lady Morgana had been feeling a little unwell today, more so than usual. She told Gwen to fetch Gaius. The silent "you can go the long way to avoid the square" was much appreciated. Upon reaching the court physician's quarters, Gwen found the old man picking through his equipment and herbs. She told him of the issue and even assisted him in finding the ingredients and putting them together. She would take up any task to avoid thinking of the execution happening outside. She was the first, and really only one to hear the door to the main room open and close, and to hear the voice of a man. Seeing how absorbed Gaius is in the mixing the ingredients perfectly, Gwen took it upon herself to see what the person needs and if they require medical help immediately or can wait till tomorrow when they can make an appointment. She opened the door, ready to see a man probably dramatically holding some part of his body like he were about to bleed to death when he clearly isn't, or maybe someone who just needs something to help them sleep or something for nausea after witnessing the execution. She was not expecting a lean black dire wolf. A _talking_ lean black dire wolf. She freezes at the sight, not sure whether to faint or scream, but she's not one of those ladies so she just stares at it – at _him_ her mind corrects. His head looks like it might reach up to her chest if he were to stand up straight, which he does when he sees her. He freezes too, staring at her with surprise first… then fear. She already knows perfectly why.

" _He doesn't want anyone to know he can talk."_

She is about to say something. It might be something reassuring but she doesn't know and she doesn't get to find out because Gaius walks in. He startles at the sight of Merlin.

"Merlin! Haven't seen you in a while."

The old physician looks expectantly at Merlin who remains frozen with his eyes glued to Gwen's. Gaius looks between the two, confusion escalating before he comes to a conclusion.

"Ah. Gwen my dear, there is no need to be afraid. He might look like scary, but I assure you, Merlin here is a nice dire wolf," he says cheerfully putting a reassuring hand on Gwen's shoulder.

Gwen turns her head towards Gaius but her eyes remain locked with Merlin's.

"H-he…" it takes her a second to find her voice. "He… can… talk."

She doesn't pose it as a question. As much as she would like to believe that this Merlin didn't talk, she knows what she saw. What she _heard._

Gaius freezes and his lips twitch. He looks at Merlin and opens his mouth to try to explain, not even denying the claim, but all that comes out is a choked 'ah'.

Merlin takes a step back and bumps into the side of the work bench, not enough to disturb any of the brewing liquids or really anything, but it still startles him and seems help Gwen fully regain her composure… somewhat.

"I saw him. I saw him talking," she says, finally looking at Gaius who is in turn looking for a possible scapegoat. "And… there's no one else here."

Merlin is looking everywhere as Gwen continues to ramble.

"You obviously know him, where did he learn to speak. L-like a man! I mean… the only way a dire wolf… any animal could possibly talk would be…"

She freezes and looks to the black dire wolf again.

" _Would be because of magic."_

"Gwen," comes Gaius's soothing voice. "I need you to calm down. Can't have anyone hearing about this."

Gaius… Sweet and loyal Gaius, is telling her to commit treason by keeping a magical being hidden, or at least that he has a magical gift a secret. She works for Lady Morgana! Lady Morgana will find out one way or another… but she doesn't like killing people – or animals – simply because they know magic, so maybe if she does find out it will be all right. Either way, Gwen doesn't feel all too bothered by what Gaius is asking her to do. She can't stand watching a person being killed, she won't stand to watch this skinny creature – she will see that he gets a good dinner – killed as well.

"Was he cursed?" she asks in a quieter voice, realizing that her voice earlier could have easily alerted any nearby guards, which thankfully, there are no thundering footsteps approaching.

"No, I was not."

Gwen turns to the dire wolf, to _Merlin_. He had just spoke again, seeming to have given up on any plan to play it off. He looks her in the eyes, more confident but still looking a little fearful.

" _Of what I might do now that I know."_

Merlin takes a tentative step forward. Gwen doesn't retreat, she's not afraid of him, just startled… by the fact that he can talk.

"Then… w-where…" finding no words, she gestures to her own mouth.

"He has magic of his own. Might be the only dire wolf that can practice sorcery," Gaius supplies as he walks over to the table where Merlin set down the envelope he was carrying, slightly wet with saliva.

"I was born with it."

Gwen is once again left speechless. She stands there, as does Merlin who is looking everywhere but at Gwen.

"I'm Guinevere, but most people call me Gwen. I'm the Lady Morgana's maid," she hears herself suddenly saying while outstretching her hand, before realizing that she is in fact offering to shake a dire wolf's hand…or paw rather.

Before she can pull her hand away though, Merlin steps forward and presses the side of his muzzle into Gwen's outstretched hand.

"Merlin," he responds.

He hesitantly pulls his head away. Gwen feels slightly embarrassed because she wants to keep petting him. Admittedly, Merlin's fur is softer than she thought it would be.

The atmosphere once again becomes awkward, until Gaius emerges through the door from which the two have both came through earlier, even though Gwen doesn't remember him going back in there. In his hand, he holds a small vile filled with green liquid and suddenly, Gwen remembers why she is here in the first place.

"Well, seeing as that you two are getting along," he says approaching Merlin to singlehandedly remove his fitted satchel, until Gwen steps forward to help. "Perhaps Merlin, you be so kind as to accompany Gwen to Lady Morgana's chambers."

The other two look at him with confused looks. The satchel is removed and Gaius sets the small vile down on the table, setting the satchel down next to it. He starts removing the books and blankets and setting them elsewhere on the table as he explains.

"Merlin will be assisting me with my practice and since some of my patients already know what I ask of them to do with their medicine, I can send him to simply deliver their medication, or whatever it is that they need."

He pulls what looks like a smaller satchel with multiple small pouches within it, something that carries small things. He starts to turn around when his shirt sleeve knocks the vile off the table. Gwen lets out a surprise gasp, but only because it fell off the table. She is still, obviously, startled when instead of hitting the ground, it stops midair. Gaius grabs it where it floats and puts it in a more secure spot on the table.

"Ah, thank you Merlin."

Right. Born with magic, seems helpful.

With the vile in a safer spot, Gaius turns around again and goes about attaching the smaller satchel that actually has two openings filled with pouches on either side of Merlin's body, all the while continuing to explain his earlier offer.

"I have spoken to the King about it, and he has allowed to let Merlin deliver medicine to himself, Lady Morgana and to prince Arthur."

"Impressive," Gwen responds.

"But apparently in addition to that," Merlin says, looking mildly uncomfortable with people talking over him and _about_ him, and attaching something to him at the same time. "I have to prove myself as a… _guard dog._ "

"… Seems reasonable."

"Yes, if I was just a plain old dire wolf that is."

" _Right."_

Being around the royal family all the while pretending not to have magic and having to keep himself from actively speaking to them, because they will kill him if they find out. At least the King would. Morgana, as stated before, could easily keep it a secret, and prince Arthur… Gwen doesn't really know about the prince. He likes to make his father proud, but he doesn't like executions.

"Then I will assist with keeping… this… a secret."

"That is treason," Merlin warns with a look of concern.

"It'll be fine," she insists. "Perhaps in time, we can convince even one of them that you're not _bad_ … You know. If they ever find out."

"Thomas James Collins might say otherwise," he responds.

Gwen flinches at the name. She knows who he's talking about.

"Sorry…" he looks down, his tail lowering in shame.

While Merlin and Gwen stand awkwardly, Gaius finishes securing the satchel and reaches onto the table to retrieve the vile. He places it in one of the small pouches on the right side of the satchel and secures the little button cap to keep it from falling out. Once that is done, he stands up straight and smiles gleefully at the two of them, before his face contorts in confusion.

"Hang on a minute. You're not supposed to be here till Wednesday," he prompts while looking at Merlin.

Merlin and Gwen share a look before facing Gaius again.

"It is Wednesday," they say in union.

Gaius processes that information for a bit before realization takes over, along with a bashful open mouth smile.

"Ah… Well," he clears his throat, slightly embarrassed. "Gwen, perhaps you can… give him a tour. Introduce him to the staff."

"Sure," she smiles, already walking towards the door. "We'll stop by Lady Morgana's chambers first."

"Fine by me," says Merlin, following Gwen to the door.

"Oh, and one more thing," Gaius says. "He is to meet with the King tomorrow at the upcoming celebration. You will need to include the banquet hall in your tour."

"Of course, thank you for everything Gaius."

"You're welcome my dear."

Gwen opens the door, stepping out into the hall then standing out of the way to let Merlin through.

"Merlin," Gaius calls, capturing both Gwen's and the wolf in question's attention. "Keep quiet."

Merlin merely nods, already in character, Gaius smiles at the two of them. The door closes and Gwen starts the walk to the Lady's chambers. Taking the long way of course. She feels confident in herself, she can keep this secret. Besides, what are the chances she'll run into – not literally – the king or the prince before they are scheduled to meet Merlin?


	3. Chapter 3

Merlin could honestly care less about the royal family. He'll protect them with his life, yes. But… he didn't want to assume anything, but there's a chance that they might be ignorant pricks. Anyone who can order someone to die without regret must be an ignorant prick. He'll give the king the benefit of the doubt for now. Magic can be used for evil, to harm and even worse, to kill. Thomas Collins may not have killed or even harmed anyone for all he knows, and killing him was wrong, but Merlin has discovered that humans are sensitive to their own emotions. When they are afraid or angry, what they feel is right and what is wrong can be easily misread. When experiencing ill emotions, they can't find the good in people, and when they are overly cheerful, they can't process that someone can be evil. The king is afraid of magic. Merlin will let that be as it is. For now, but in time, he hopes to clear his mind. Even just so that he can see that not all magic is bad.

"Lady Morgana gets easily nauseous, especially when there is an execution happening," Gwen says, snapping Merlin out of his thoughts. "So you might have to visit her often."

Merlin swivels his ears some, so that they are backwards but not flat. He makes a strange canine sound, mindful of the people around them on the cobblestone path by not talking. Gwen, luckily, seems to understand what he is supposedly asking without actually talking.

"Not that executions happen often, that is! I meant… more so the part where she gets easily nauseous."

She tucks a curly strand of hair behind her ear when the wind blows it into her face. If he were a human, he might just see it as a natural motion. But he is a dire wolf, he can feel the nervous energy radiating off of her.

" _She probably never had to keep such a big secret from the royal family. Maybe even from her own family."_

Merlin makes a deep rumbling sound in his throat and slightly leans into Gwen's leg, careful not to push her and accidently knock her over. The gesture is meant to be a comforting one. He has done it many times for many people back in his home village. It always worked then, and it thankfully works now. Gwen places her hand in between his shoulder blades and lightly scratches him. She doesn't walk as stiff and slows her walk, as her nervousness had driven her into a powerwalk. At his height, she doesn't have to bend down to pet him. In fact, her hand is higher than when it is limp at her side. With his human personality, he can understand how awkward it can be to pet him like with any other animal, but he is still a dire wolf, so he enjoys these touches. If he were a cat, he might start purring. But he's not a cat.

"The king will surely be busy preparing for tomorrow's celebration," Gwen continues, smiling at people who pass by and say hello. "So he'll be running around today. There's a chance we might see him. But we can't bother him unless he starts the conversation."

" _Wasn't really planning on approaching him."_

"Morgana, we'll meet in her chambers of course."

Merlin nods, but makes sure it's not too obvious.

"As for the prince…"

She pauses for a moment, clearly in thought. Before she can speak however, loud cheering is heard on the other side of the giant archway that they are approaching.

"Nice one, Sire!" says a masculine voice.

Gwen stops and Merlin stops as well, torn between looking in the direction of the noise and looking at Gwen. She remains silent for a few seconds, and in those few seconds, there is more cheering and what sounds like small objects hitting wood, which is followed by even more cheering.

"… You just might be meeting him soon," she says.

She starts walking and it takes Merlin a moment to continue following her as he was busy trying to figure out what exactly is hitting the wood.

"Very soon," she says under her breath, but Merlin hears it.

They pass through the archway and pass people who look somewhat uneasy. When Merlin sees what is making the noise and who is cheering, he understands why. He stops in his tracks and stares at the scene that is unfolding before him. It's not as bad as the execution, because that was an _execution_ , but this is still bad. A poor lad, maybe in his late teens, is running side to side while carrying a large shield. Though it seems to be a target for the blonde bloke who is throwing knifes at it. The lad carrying the target looks scared out of his mind, but unwilling to flee, as if he feels obligated to keep carrying it. Merlin takes a step forward, and it's only when Gwen squeezes where her stand is still on his shoulders that he realizes that his body is vibrating as he growls.

"Merlin," Gwen quietly warns.

Merlin can't comprehend why Gwen is trying to stop him from stepping up to protect the lad when she is so clearly upset with the scene. He can smell it on her.

The lad loses his grip on the handle of the target and he drops it. It rolls for a short while before rolling to a stop in front Merlin. It wobbles back and forth as the handle digs into the dirt path below, which is not stable support, causing it to wobble. Merlin places one of his large paws on it to stop it. The blonde that had been throwing the knives looks startled by his presence, but he expertly masks it. Merlin only notices it because he knows what to look for. The blonde bloke then looks up at Gwen.

"Ah, Guinevere," says the prat. "What might this be?"

" _An idiotic, ignorant and self-centered prat. What an awful combination of smells. But what's that other one? It smells almost like… magic? That can't be right."_

Gwen looks nervous when she is called out. Because of her nervousness, the scene that he had just witnessed unfold and because of this prat's challenging and almost aggressive scent, Merlin lowers his head and flattens his ears more. His growl growing louder. Gwen squeezes him and brings her other hand up to grab at his satchel in hopes of keeping him in place. He won't move, but thankfully, the bloke thinks he will and stops after walking closer to the two of them, eyeing Merlin with caution, his dumb smirk falling from his face. Gwen stutters for a bit.

"Oh, um… T-this… this is Merlin. Uh, he's here to work for Gaius," she puts on her best smile, not that Merlin can see it because he's still staring down the prat.

"For Gaius?" asks the prat with a raised eyebrow.

The bloke's eyes are also blue. A different shade than his own, but still very blue. In them, Merlin can see just how overbearingly tough this guy is, but he can also see that hint of fear that a human feels when he comes across a predator. It's always satisfying – even though Merlin usually feels guilty and upset with himself later about it – when he sees just how much he can scare someone with just a stare. This guy is the strongest willed one he has ever met. Most would have turn tail and run by now or fell on their behind. But this one stands his ground. Of course, Merlin knows better than to attack him. Not just because of where they are and because of all the people around, but because man is the real predator in this world. Man, more often than not, hunts without purpose or reason.

"Yes!" says Gwen.

Gwen starts rubbing her hands along Merlin's back to sooth his tense muscles. It works, but it's mostly Merlin just coming to his senses with his reasons to _not_ knock him down into the dirt.

" _It would serve the ass right."_

"He will be helping by delivering medicine to patients… including the king, Lady Morgana and yourself… Gaius al…"

"Wait. He'll be bringing medicine," the bloke gestures to himself. "To me?"

 _Oh._

" _So he's a royal ass."_

He isn't growling anymore, but he keeps his stance firm, even noticing that he is standing more in between the royal ass and Gwen than he was before. He takes the time to look over this man. Very young man, if his nose is correct, still something of a pup.

" _Definetly acts like one… a really naughty one."_

But he'll keep that a secret for now, because it can be used against him. Dire wolves live longer than regular wolves. And because of his magic, Merlin can live even longer, aging like a human. He doesn't know exactly how old this bloke is, but he might be of similar age to himself. However, dire wolves mature faster than humans, and Merlin has been acting up since early on. He does act childish from time to time, but that was to get along with the children back in the village… it just happened to stick with him… after he left for Camelot.

But back to the point.

Merlin is the adult and the prat is the idiot pup.

"Ah… yes. Gaius told me that he spoke to the king about this… We're actually on our way to the Lady Morgana's chambers now."

"With… medicine?"

"Yes," Gwen proves so by opening the small pouch containing the vile and shows it to the prince before putting it away. "Gaius asked be to show him around… G-get him familiarized with everything."

Arthur raises an eyebrow at her.

"So, you'll be showing him my room?" He says with a smile that Merlin decides he doesn't really like.

Gwen becomes a little more panicked, but schools her posture and expression pretty well.

"Just where it is. I won't let him in… without permission of course."

Merlin decides he's seen enough ignorant, pratty baby face of a prince today, so he turns slightly and nudges Gwen towards the direction they were going. She just keeps petting him, staring at the prince with a stupid and nervous smile on her face. She moves out of the way a bit every time he does it, so he starts grunting and making half howls to get her attention. She looks down and he gestures down the road to where they were going.

"Looks like the puppy is sad," Arthur mocks, his little gang cackling.

Merlin twitches and flattens his ears, glancing at Arthur out of the corner of his eye but turning to look in the direction they are supposed to be walking in.

"Oh… no. He's just reminding me that we should be on our way… To Lady Morgana's Chambers," says Gwen, awkwardly and excessively petting Merlin's neck and shoulders. "To deliver her medicine."

"Then I shouldn't delay your travels any longer," he says with a sweeter smile. "Morris, pick up the target and get back at it."

The lad, Morris, who had been carrying the target before, makes his way hesitantly towards the target. Merlin figures that it's because of him, and so that lad is afraid of him. Or of Arthur. Either way, he smells heavily of fear. Merlin isn't about to let the royal ass continue to terrorize the poor lad, so he also goes for the target. Morris instinctively stops and eyes him. Merlin opens his jaw and picks up the target without too much trouble.

" _Well it's a good thing dire wolves are known to be strong. I may not be the strongest dire wolf, but this is rather light for me."_

With the end that is opposite of Merlin's mouth still touching the ground, he moves his body and his head accordingly to throw the target across the ground towards the prat. He jumps back a bit, even when it isn't completely necessary to avoid the target hitting his shins. Arthur looks up at Merlin with his mouth agape, to which the black wolf huffs with irritation. He shifts his gaze from Merlin to Gwen, obviously wanting to say something – probably something rude – before thinking better of it.

"You know what? I'll find something else to do."

He turns around walking back to his group of lackeys. Morris picks up an abandoned basket, probably having been carrying it before Arthur started picking on him. Merlin is just turning around when he hears the prince mutter under his breath.

"Stupid mutt."

Merlin waits a moment, he has to time it so that it's not too suspicious.

"Let's go to the stables. There's a scrawny boy who needs…" Arthur says to his little group before he suddenly trips.

He manages to get his hands under him but still almost face plants. The guys around him had lunged to try and catch him but had started bumping into each other in the process. If they had gotten a hold of him before he fell far, they weren't very successful in stopping him from falling all the way. They try to help him up, but be brushes them off, a little roughly. He's clearly embarrassed. Merlin can't help but laugh. Obviously in way a wolf can, not like a human. Still not trying to blow his cover. Arthur turns to look at him with murder in his eyes, but he only looks the prince in the eye for a second before turning his attention towards Gwen, a lopsided wolf grin plastered on his muzzle. Gwen looks like she feels out of place. She probably knows he tripped the prince, but he made sure it looked natural. She clearly wants to ask if the prince is alright, but seeing as the prince is a self-centered prick, he might get upset if she does.

The two continue walking, Merlin with a little more bounce in his step and his tails sways a little more than usual with his movements.

"What's his name?" the prince calls out to Gwen.

" _She already told you. Were you not listening?"_

Gwen looks between Arthur and Merlin for a second, placing her hand on Merlin's head who refuses to face the prince.

"Merlin."

They continue walking, Gwen slightly in front with her hand still on Merlin's head as she guides him. Behind them, just above a whisper for the prince and those around him, yet loud and clear for Merlin, he hears Arthur repeat his name.

" _Merlin_."


	4. Chapter 4

It had been an interesting day today. First thing that happened in Camelot upon his arrival was an execution followed by the reveal of sorcery and a plot to kill the crown prince from the mother of the deceased prisoner. Then he had gone to see Gaius and ended up revealing his magic to someone within an hour of being Camelot. But luckily, Gwen seems trustworthy enough to keep it a secret. Then Merlin had escorted Gwen to the Lady Morgana's chambers, met the royal ass of a prince along the way, got scolded by Gwen for tripping him with magic and then got scolded for trying to play it off – she's too smart for her own good. Then there had been Lady Morgana. As the woman who had been staring at him after the execution, he wasn't expecting their first meeting to be so… anti-climactic. She had listened to Gwen explain Merlin's presence and Gaius's offer for her to give him a tour, took her medicine, gave Merlin a little pat on the head and then bid them off on their tour. It was very confusing, but he likes her better than the crown prince. They only ever got a glimpse of the king when he had returned to his own chambers, which of course, Merlin took note of, and then proceeded from there. It had been a very eventful day to begin with, but became a bit more… normal towards the end of it. Which is good. The more normal the days are, the less likely people are to find out about him and the easier it will be able to complete his mission.

After the tour, Merlin returned to Gaius's room. He rested for a few hours, and when Gaius woke him up, the sky was just starting to dim outside the window. He was given some food and then Gaius sent him off with his satchel and a small glass container of yellow liquid and a note of instructions that are to be delivered to Lady Helen's room.

And so, Merlin is standing in a walkway that overlooks the castle's main entrance, because there is one problem… No one told him who she is and where she is staying. The most he got out of passing staff who looked at the paper in his mouth, is that she is not here yet. None of them bothered to tell him where her prepared room is. He decided that the best option would be to wait for her arrival. But so as not to scare her, he is staying away from the main entrance. He is still sitting there. In a dark walkway only lit by torches and the moon light. There are guards below, awaiting the arrival of the Lady and her Entourage. Perhaps they have noticed Merlin, perhaps they have not. The most activity that occurs between the guards are hushed whispers. He can hear what they are saying pretty clearly and he finds that he cannot turn his ears away. They are talking about the sorceresses promise to the king. The promise to kill the prince.

Merlin doesn't hold a high opinion of the prince after their first meeting, but he does not wish death upon him. He's just a naughty pup that needs better discipline on being a part of a pack, and about respect for every wolf. This assassination plot upsets his 'must act normal' position in the castle. With the possibility of her sneaking in, he will need to act on some of his more nocturnal tendencies and prowl around the prince's room, using his own magic. But Merlin figures that she'll try to kill him in a place where Uther can watch, where many people can watch actually, to make it even for how she lost her son. The only kind of gathering he can think of is tomorrow's celebration. Luckily, he has an invitation. He'll be by the prince's side for practically the entire evening, but will be hidden out of sight as per orders of the king himself. For now, he'll just do what Gaius has asked of him to do… and wait.

… And wait.

… And wait.

… This is going to take forever. Merlin can be very patient, but he has his limits. While trying to think of something to do to pass the time, he hears the distant sound of footsteps. People are always walking about the castle, so he thinks little of it. The footsteps of who Merlin believes to be a man – judging by how heavy they are – come out onto the walkway that he sits on to the left of Merlin. The dire wolf continues to stare down into the courtyard. The footsteps start walking the left – away from Merlin – before they pause. Out of the corner of his eye, Merlin sees the figure, but can't see who it is. He then starts smelling the air, because if it is someone who he doesn't know… well, apparently, he looks a lot scarier at night. He recognizes the smell and when he puts a face to it… Merlin does his best not to show his disgust.

" _Great, he's here."_

The man turns around and walks towards Merlin.

" _And he's not going to leave me alone… The royal ass."_

"Merlin," Arthur calls.

The guards acknowledge the prince on the walkway with salutes, but say nothing. Merlin on the other hand, keeps his gaze towards the gate.

" _She better arrive soon."_

"Aw, don't ignore me," Arthur says.

Merlin can practically hear the stupid grin in the stupid prat's voice. He also hears a strange wolf sound come from himself that almost sounds like he's trying to talk, but thankfully doesn't sound human. It might be instinct, but it might be because of the letter in his mouth. He didn't want to make a sound to show his distaste of the prince's presence, but seeing as he did, he slightly turns his head to look at the prince who walks the final few feet between them. He's dressed in more comfortable clothes, if leather is something considered comfortable. Honestly, Merlin can't see the appeal in the material other than just a little bit a warmth. But it just might be because the prince looks like a toad… in leather. The prince, of course, notices when Merlin turns to look at him and gets all giddy like a pup.

"Thank god. I thought you were deaf as well as dumb," He says, placing a gloved hand on the stone railing.

Merlin turns to face him more and levels him with a glare, flattening is ears.

" _What have I done to make you think I'm dumb?"_

Arthur smirks at him, then seems to notice the letter.

"What's this?"

He reaches for it but Merlin turns his head to face the gate. And he will not look back.

"Oh, come on," the prat prods, but Merlin does not face him, doesn't even twitch an ear. "Come oooooon."

" _Don't look at the toad. Do not look at the toad. Do not look at the toad."_

He looks at the darn toad. Given, he doesn't completely turn his head, just makes it easier for the prince to see the letter. The prince smirks and grabs a hold of the paper and removes it from the jaws of the dire wolf, who is just about up to his chest in height. Merlin would have clamped down harder on it, but he didn't want to tear it. After all, Lady Helen will need to read it.

"Lady Helen," Arthur reads aloud. "Is this the preparation for her voice?"

Merlin nods without thinking. Arthur notices.

"Huh? You aren't a dumb dog after all."

Merlin wants to growl, but the prince folds the letter again and motions for Merlin to take it in between his teeth again. Merlin does.

" _You're the dumb one. I might be a canine, but I am not a dog… Prat."_

"She'll be here soon. You shouldn't have to wait long."

Arthur starts to walk the way he was originally going. Merlin realizes something, and internally groans dramatically.

" _I still don't know where her room is."_

Merlin stands up and starts following Arthur. The prince either hears him, or his warrior senses tell him, and he turns around to look at him with a quizzical look. Merlin stops short of him, making sure not to make eye contact. Arthur walks a bit more, looking over his shoulder every now and then as Merlin continues walking after him. He stops, looks at the guards who aren't really paying attention to them anymore. His mouth opens and closes a few times before he fully faces Merlin.

"Why are you following me?"

Merlin only meets his eyes, it's all he can do without actually speaking. Cause that is not an option.

"That's obviously for Lady Helen," he says, gesturing to the letter.

Merlin nods.

"I don't need that medication."

Merlin nods again.

"It's for her voice, so that she can sing. I don't sing."

Merlin nods again, hoping that the prat will figure it out sooner rather than later.

"So you have to give it, to _her_."

Merlin nods more, his ears perking as Arthur gets closer to the point.

"So take it to _her_ chambers," he says, enunciating 'her' to get his point across.

Merlin doesn't nod this time, and hopes to all things good that the stupid pup gets it. He just stares Arthur in the eyes. Arthur raises his shoulders and opens both hands in a shrug as a prompt, waiting for the dire wolf to respond, but Merlin just stares at him. When Merlin does look away, he looks almost everywhere. Realization _finally_ sets onto Arthur's face.

"You don't know where she's staying."

It's not a question. Merlin looks him in the eye again.

Arthur sighs and looks to the gate before looking back at Merlin.

"Fine. I'll show you where she's staying."

He starts walking the way he was originally heading with Merlin close on his heels.

Perhaps a minute after they go inside, Lady Helen and her Entourage arrive. In a small puddle between the cobble stones on the ground, her reflection shows a very different woman.


	5. Chapter 5

Arthur had met dire wolves before. Although _met_ doesn't seem like the right word to use. Those encounters, more often than not, ended with someone's blood being spilt. But those instances were all hunts that he was forced to go on as a little kid with lords and other nobility that decided that they wanted a new dire wolf rug or a dire wolf fur coat. Dire wolves are very secluded and usually stay far away from humans. Not once has he ever hunted a dire wolf with those lords in which the beast approached them.

This Dire wolf is odd. _Merlin_ acts as if he has been around humans his entire life, even acting like one, from the instances he's seen the big black wolf. He admits that being around a dire wolf without either of them trying to kill each other is an amazing feeling, especially when people passing by see them walking together with looks of astonishment. But besides how awesome it is to walk side by side with him, this particular wolf is somewhat annoying. He challenged Arthur, stopped his target practice and had the audacity to laugh at him when he tripped. It was a weird sound because he had never heard really _any_ animal laugh. He's only ever heard people laugh. He's also a very disobedient animal, only doing what he's told when he feels like it and how he wants to do it.

He looks over his shoulder every now and then to look at the huge beast. Merlin keeps his head bowed, but not in a way that looks like he's bowing to Arthur, more like he's trying to make himself smaller. He lowers his head even more when people pass by. He doesn't want to scare people it would seem, which is good considering that dire wolves are _big_. Merlin is by far the smallest dire wolf he's met, and definitely the scrawniest.

" _When was the last time he had a decent meal?"_

The last time he went hunting for dire wolves was three years ago and he wasn't as tall as he is now, but he can still tell that this one is smaller than average. He's also a sleek black color. If those nobles ever laid their eyes on him, he would be the ultimate kill. The nobles that he had to hunt with love the 'cool looking ones', because they love to show off their kills. Black dire wolves seem to be the all time favorite.

If Merlin wants to survive here, he'll need to learn to be more obedient. Arthur may be the prince, but a lot of the lords hold a lot of power, and if they want Merlin as a trophy, his father just might allow them to kill him.

They are almost to the prepared room; the door is in sight. Arthur is so lost in his thoughts, he doesn't hear the single set of footsteps coming around the corner from up the stairs. Merlin does. He trots ahead of Arthur and moves himself to be perpendicular in front of Arthur, and because of how big Merlin is, Arthur has no choice but to stop. He's about to say something, but Lady Helen steps out of the stair way. She startles at the sight of them, but it's only evident on her face as she maintains most of her composure.

"Ah, Lady Helen. I see you have arrived safely."

"I have," she says, with what looks like a forced smile – he's had a lifetime to be able to figure out how to tell the difference.

Lady Helen's gaze shifts downwards towards Merlin when he stands up taller. Her features contort in confusion and possibly fear. They seem to stare at each other for an awkward while before Arthur decides he doesn't want to be the awkward third party. He clears his throat which only really seems to bring Lady Helen out of her trance, Merlin still seems to be studying her intensely from where Arthur can see.

"Uhh… This is Merlin. He works for our court physician… delivering medicine, and stuff."

"Oh," she says, still looking like she feels out of place.

"He actually has something for you. Your preparation, I mean."

She looks at him with an odd look.

"For you voice," he clarifies.

She looks confused for a moment, before she schools her face with a kind smile that still looks a little forced. Arthur looks down at Merlin who seems to be a little stiff as he continues to stare at the Lady.

"Merlin," Arthur says, but said dire wolf does not budge.

Arthur roughly nudges the beast's hip with his thigh, just behind the satchel and the dumb beast finally reacts. He looks almost lost when he looks between Arthur and Lady Helen. Arthur clears his throat again and tilts his chin towards the paper in Merlin's mouth.

"The letter," he prompts.

The wolf's ears perk and he turns to face Lady Helen and hesitantly gives her the letter.

"Is this the preparation itself?"

"Ah."

Arthur looks down at Merlin who uses his snout to point at the side of the satchel that is closest to Arthur. Arthur makes quick work of opening the satchel flap and finding the small vial filled with yellow liquid. Once that is done, he holds it out to Lady Helen who gives him the first genuine smile he's seen on her face. But he notices that it looks almost… predatory. Well, he knows that he's very handsome, many girls would want to spend time with him. As she takes the vial from him, she lets her fingers glide over his own more and longer than is necessary. Arthur will admit that Lady Helen does look beautiful but he's not really looking for a girl at the moment, so he thinks little of it. That is until a deep yet almost quiet growling is heard from below them. Lady Helen quickly removes the vial from Arthur's grasp and somewhat jumps back. He expects fear on her face, but he just sees annoyance. He feels annoyed by the interruption as well, not because he was having a moment – Lady Helen may have been, but he wasn't – but rather because of who the dumb dog is growling at.

"Um, you must be tired after such a long journey," Arthur says, pulling at the satchel and effectively stopping the growling, but Merlin still stares the Lady down. "You also have a big performance tomorrow. So rest is… a good idea. I'm sure it will be quite an event."

"Oh, it definitely will be," she responds with an almost terrifying yet genuine smile.

Arthur can definitely see why the wolf would be growling at someone who says something like that, with _that_ voice. But none the less, she is a guest of his father's, and he is not about to be held responsible for a dire wolf threatening a guest with such an invitation.

"We'll be going now," he says, grunting as he tries to pull Merlin away from the Lady.

" _For such a skinny thing, he's incredibly heavy."_

Merlin only starts moving when Arthur almost falls backwards from his efforts, albeit slowly and hesitantly. As they finally start walking back the way they came, more towards Arthur's chambers, the prince notices how Merlin keeps looking back. When they are a safe distance away, Arthur rounds on him.

"What was that?"

Merlin seems shocked by Arthur's outburst, his blue eyes widening as he looks into the prince's own blue orbs.

"You can't just growl at her! She's a guest, she has an invitation from the king!"

Merlin looks at him for a second before looking back over his own shoulder. It's very low, but Arthur can hear the wolf making some strange sounds, as if he's talking, but that's not possible. It just sounds like deep whining noises and weak howls, but Arthur can almost decipher it.

" _She smells of magic."_

Again, animals don't talk. And also, there is no way that Lady Helen has magic. He doesn't have any proof to back up his claim, but he is absolutely certain that Lady Helen does not have magic. It might be because he's tired or because he just feels utterly embarrassed about the stunt that the dumb dog just pulled, but he continues to scold Merlin.

"She doesn't have magic!"

Merlin whips his head around so fast, Arthur is almost certain he has whiplash, and he doesn't care because it would serve him right. He looks fearful, but Arthur doesn't care.

"Look," Arthur says, mimicking a tone his father used to use on him when he was younger and got in trouble. "I know this place is new to you and the people are new, but you can't growl at nobility."

Merlin gives him a look with one raised ear and eyes that says, "oh really". Arthur doesn't know how he can, but he figures out what Merlin is trying to say. Again, not possible, he's an animal.

"Okay, so maybe there are some nobility that need to be growled at, but it will be up to my father to decide who you growl at. _If_ you ever growl at a noble!"

Merlin seems to let the information sink in. He looks over his shoulder towards where they came. Arthur pinches the bridge of his nose. He is done with this. He's tired and angry.

"I can't believe I'm arguing with a dumb dog," he sighs.

Merlin turns to give him an unimpressed look.

"Yes I can call you a dumb dog and I will, since you can't even properly deliver medicine and interact properly with people."

Arthur turns on his heel, starting to walk off towards his chambers for some much needed rest.

"I'm done with this. Go back to Gaius, maybe he'll teach you some manners."

He walks a few feet before he steps in a small box that he doesn't remember being in the middle of the hallway and forcing it to sweep up and hit him in the shin. _Hard_. He groans and hears strange laughter behind him. Strange as in it doesn't sound human. He turns his head, his hands on his sore shin, and gives the black dire wolf a pointed look.

"Shut up."

Merlin huffs a few more wolfish laughs and walks off into a side corridor. Arthur hears some more wolf sounds that he thinks sound like him mimicking Arthur's, "shut up".

"I heard that."

While the sound is more distant and has more echo from the stone walls, Arthur still hears the stupid wolf mimicking him again in his own way.

"That too."

Arthur stands. It might bruise, but it won't be a terrible bother. He can walk it off no problem. He continues his short trip to his room, glad that there aren't any servants running about for once, so as to have no one seeing his embarrassment or the little incident with the box that caused his embarrassment.

" _Stupid dog."_


	6. Chapter 6

The castle is almost scary at night. But Merlin isn't scared, he grew up in the forest outside his previous _owner's_ village, and there are a lot of scary things in that forest. Merlin can hear the echoes of servants walking about and their muffled voices, but other than that, it is dead silent. A majority of the staff already know he's here – rumors spread quickly – so no one is too surprised by his presence in the castle. And that is a good thing, because it will make it easier to complete his mission.

He silently pads through the corridors, using his hunting instincts to keep him out of sight and quiet. Gwen's tour and the little exploration that he has done on his own have told him a lot about the castle. And because he is a dire wolf and not a human, people won't bother him as much, or ask him where he's going. They might be confused, but they won't bother him.

" _Merlin."_

He stops and stands on high alert, his ears swiveling every which way. The voice was more in his mind, telepathic, but it still sounded like it came from a direction. It came from… below.

" _Merlin."_

Definitely below. Merlin walks to the closest stair case and goes down two at a time because of how narrow the steps are – to him at least. He knows that he looks a little eager as he picks up the pace to a slow trot, but he can't bring himself to slow down as the deep masculine voice continues to beckon him. When the voice pauses, Merlin sees that he is just before the stairwell that leads down to the dungeon. The voice doesn't call his name again, but he knows that it is coming from down there. He takes these steps more slowly and quietly as he smells guards nearby, a recent guard shift happened about an hour ago it smells like. The stairwell is rather narrow, but not enough that Merlin can touch both sides with his body, or the satchel even. Further down, he hears what must be dice hitting a wooden table over and over again and nothing else.

" _They must be bored."_

He comes to a curved landing near the end of the stairs. Looking through the railing, his suspicions are confirmed. Two guards who look bored out of their minds, probably not even knowing what numbers they are rolling anymore, sit at an old wooden table. They also look like they are about to fall asleep. Since Merlin needs to get past them without them seeing him, he decides to entertain them. Give them something to talk about.

When the dice hit the table on the next roll, the wolf's blue eyes glow gold in the darkness, but neither guard notices because the dice fly off the table. They look at each other before one of them stands to fetch them. When he nears them and reaches down for them, they move further away towards an open door that leads into darkness. The guard that is following them looks over his shoulder at the other guard who just shrugs. They're too tired and bored to really think much of it at the moment. He goes for the dice again but they jump over the little step and into the dark room. This time, the guard who was just sitting there gets up and joins the other as he walks into the dark room.

Merlin takes his chance. He doesn't need a torch because dire wolves never did need fire to see in the dark.

" _Merlin."_

The voice sounds closer. He stealthily trots through the dark hallways. Behind him, he hears the guards returning to the table, talking about how weird it was that that the dice had been moving on their own. He doesn't care about that right now, he'll figure out how to get by them a second time later on. For now, he'll travel deeper into the dungeon and find that voice. He already has a sneaking suspicion that he knows who it is.

" _Merlin."_

The voice is almost clear. Merlin takes a side corridor that leads to a two-way split. He stands there for a moment, before the voice calls him again, from the left. He walks through a small room crammed with old statues and torn tapestries. Merlin will have to take a better look at them another time, but he is busy chasing the voice at the moment.

Up ahead, he hears the echo of water droplets hitting rocks and other bodies of water, probably the size of a large pond. There is an opening in the stone wall, about as big as a door. On the other side of the opening…

Merlin stops just before the edge of the cliff side. It's a cave. A _huge_ cave, that looks to be as big as the castle, maybe even _bigger_. There are huge rock formations that have been molded by the dripping water over the years, creating sharp edges. The voice laughs, the deep rumble echoing off the rocks.

"Where are you?" Merlin calls, looking in all directions.

The clinking of chains sounds in front of Merlin and he crotches in a defensive position, ears almost folding completely, more so because of how annoying the sound of the chains clinking are to his sensitive ears.

"I'm here," says the voice from above.

Merlin looks up in time to see a giant gold dragon, with his wings spread, glide down to a rock formation in front of Merlin. The two seem to study each other, neither backing down from the dominating aura of the other, until the aura's find a peaceful balance with each other. The great dragon chuckles. Merlin meets the dragon's eyes.

"How small you are for such a great destiny," says the Great Dragon.

Merlin doesn't know why it took him this long to figure it out. He freezes for a second before he bows his head in respect towards the dragon.

"Kilgharrah," Merlin says in his most professional voice.

"That is my name," Kilgharrah flaps his wings.

"I am Merlin. I have traveled far to free you from this place."

"I know why you have come. But I also know that it is not the reason why you are here."

"Sir…"

"Please, call me by my name," Kilgharrah chuckles.

Merlin is silent. He contemplates what his response should be, but Kilgharrah speaks before he can.

"It is good that you already know that you have such an important destiny."

Merlin looks up and meets the dragon's eyes again, uncertainty covers his dark wolf features.

"I have been told that. Because my magic is so strong, because I was born with it. Because I, as a dire wolf, have magic at all. That I must be special… that I have some kind of destiny to fulfil."

Kilgharrah tilts his head some, seeming to get a better look at the dire wolf before him.

"It is true, that a dire wolf having magic is unheard of, but that doesn't mean that it is impossible. For all we know, there could be many dire wolves with magical gifts."

Merlin still looks uncertain.

"I don't really think 'gift' is the right word to use," Merlin mumbles, loud enough so that Kilgharrah can still hear him.

"Oh?" the dragon prompts.

"… It's more like a curse, a burden. I can't even use it in Camelot because if I'm found out, I'll be killed. It's only ever brought the people around me and myself sorrow. A-and even if I used it for good, I would be killed! And t-turned into a rug, or a fur coat!"

The dragon hums as Merlin looks down, distraught.

"Gift, curse. Day, night. Life, _death_ … It is not what we think of them now that matters. It is what they leave us with at the end and after the end that truly counts."

Merlin looks up again with a sad perplexed look on his face.

"What does that mean?"

"In time young Warlock, you will understand. But for now, you will need to watch over young Arthur and guide him on his journey to be the once and future king that he is meant to be. He will be the one to unite the land of Albion."

Merlin looks over his shoulder as if Arthur is there, before turning back to face Kilgharrah with a disbelieving look.

"Him?"

The dragon nods.

"… That doesn't sound right."

"There is no right or wrong, only what is and what isn't," Kilgharrah says with an amused smile.

Merlin looks behind himself again for a little longer. When he turns back, his face reads disbelief to the extreme.

"But he's an idiot!"

"Then perhaps," Kilgharrah says, spreading his wings to take off. "It's your destiny to change that."

Kilgharrah flies off, the chains clinking violently with the movement. Merlin tucks his ears down flat from the assault and when he looks up, he cannot see any hint of the Great Dragon. He stands there, lost in both speech and thought.

" _My destiny?"_


	7. Chapter 7

The castle is busy today. While the servants might say that they are just walking quickly to get everything prepared, Merlin sees it as them running around. _Literally_ running. How have they not tripped yet? And why are they still so busy? Wouldn't it be better to just have everything prepared in advance? The food, sure, that could be left until the last day, but seriously? The servants are even decorating places that Merlin is pretty sure none of the guests are going to be allowed in. The halls are merely decorated because they are in sight!

Luckily, Gaius only had three total orders that he needed Merlin to deliver solo. One being Morgana, who is having nightmares. Merlin can relate. Gaius had Merlin accompany him to one of the three total visits that Gaius had to do himself. And only one person came to Gaius in the court physician's office. Seemed like a lot when Gaius had been naming them off, but they went pretty well and fairly quickly.

Merlin wanted to do some more exploring, but everything is just too noisy in the main castle. He'll just stay put until he's needed, which thankfully, isn't until late in the evening.

Alone in the room that Gaius insisted on giving him, Merlin looks through the spell book that Gaius also insisted on giving him. Merlin can't figure out why Gaius never decided to take the room as his own bedroom in the first place.

Now how might Merlin be turning the pages when he doesn't have fingers… or thumbs? Magic of course. Gaius is always telling him not to use his magic so freely, but what other choice does he have? Use his teeth and hope he doesn't tear the pages? His previous _owner_ taught him how to read. He showed him how to write too, but again, Merlin can only do it by using magic.

Being a dire wolf warlock is hard. Merlin knew that before, but now he _knows_ it.

He is learning a lot from the book, but right now, he's a little sidetracked by his conversation with Kilgharrah from last night. He keeps remembering the prince, and how their two interactions went. Sure, the pup has potential, if he wasn't so busy being a spoiled prat. He is respectable towards other nobles and handles their predatory aura's well – Merlin had smelled the uncertainty and slight fear on the prince when the woman - Lady Helen had kept physical contact for too long. But the people that the royal toad needs to work on his interactions with are servants, and possibly any other human who isn't a noble. His interaction with Gwen was _okay_ , but there was definitely a vibe coming off of prince Arthur that said, "I'm in charge". Then there was that kid Morris. Definitely not "Once and Future King" material if that's how he treats people who work hard for him.

A knock sounds at the door to his room. Merlin uses his magic to slam the book shut just as Gaius opens the door. The old physician looks down at the book before giving him an indifferent look. He sighs and simply folds his hands in front of him.

"The king will be expecting us soon," he says, trying to conceal his irritation.

Merlin stands as Gaius walks forward to pick up the book. He walks over to the window where there is a secret compartment hidden in the wall just under it. He hides it and faces Merlin, who looks a little sheepish, obviously knowing that Gaius is not happy that he was using magic so freely. Merlin turns to the door but Gaius speaks stopping him in his tracks.

"I said _soon_ , not immediately."

Merlin perks his ears, a little confused and a little afraid of Gaius's smile. There is a knock on the door to the main room which causes Merlin to completely shut his mouth. Gaius chuckles.

"Come in."

When Gaius walks out of the room, Merlin follows. In the main room stands three maids of different ages. They don't seem to be put off by his presence so he's a little confident.

"Hello ladies," Gaius greets before gesturing to Merlin. "This is him. He won't bite, but he'll act very shy. He doesn't really like bathes."

 _Bath._

Merlin prides himself on being courageous like any other dire wolf. But also like any other dire wolf he's met, they become cowardly when a bath is involved. He tucks his tail between his legs and tries to back out of the main room as slowly as possible, hoping that the four humans don't notice him. But he has no such luck.

"You will be taking a bath. Whether you want to or not," Gaius says with a diabolical smile.

The three maids smile kindly at Merlin. They are probably the bravest of the all the maids in the castle, and thus, have been given the task of bathing a dire wolf.

Yep. This is definitely a nightmare.

 _Time Skip :D_

Merlin's fur feels… weird. Luckily, the maids only scrubbed as much grease off as was necessary to look presentable for a party. Obviously, they know a few things about dire wolves, or just wolves in general. While Merlin's fur is not excessively long, it is not as short as the fur of some of his more southern cousins – not actual blood related cousins – and therefore is a little greasy to make water run off his fur, and not infiltrating the insulation his dark fur creates. They solely made him a bit more presentable. He'll put up with the fragrance that they put on him as well for the rest of the party, but next chance he gets, he's high tailing it to the forest and rolling around in the shrubbery. Maybe getting some _natural_ flowery scents on him. Then he'll clean himself, as a dire wolf does and should. He won't be needed for too long, but he knows that it'll be late into the night, or early on the morning when he finally gets to introduce himself to the shrubs. When Gaius and he are finally called for, Merlin walks a little stiff. The breeze and cool night air feel different for some reason. Maybe the maids washed out too much of his natural grease after all.

He can hear the party long before they get there, and he prays to the heavens above that it won't get as rambunctious as a tavern. Now that he thinks about, what does a pack of drunk self-entitled nobles look like? Maybe this will be entertaining after all.

They walk into the banquet hall from a side stair case that is close to the royal seats. A servants' access if you will. Merlin stays on the stairs while Gaius joins the party. Merlin isn't jealous of Gaius…per say. There are times that he wishes he were human, but he doubts that this is one of those times. He just really wants to see what the chefs have prepared. You know… make sure the food wasn't poisoned or anything. His nose might fail him, so maybe he'll taste some of it too… just to be sure.

He stays put.

These are the kind of people that enjoy killing his own kind. A few of them are even wearing fur. He can't completely tell what animals they are, or were rather, because unlike what the maids did with his fur, those furs have been cleaned until Merlin can no longer distinguish what animal they were by smell. He stays in the shadows and simply enjoys the sights and smells and the little head pats the passing servants give him.

He sees Arthur talking with a bunch of his mates. He scoffs at the sight as Arthur tells, from what Merlin can hear, is a false retelling of their first meeting to his mates. Really? Merlin's pretty confident that his mates already know that Arthur didn't make Merlin, the big black dire wolf, cower in fear as he – Arthur – heroically stepped between Merlin and Gwen. They're just not saying anything because he's the prince.

Then, Lady Morgana walks into the room wearing a very… interesting choice of attire. By human standards, Merlin can see that Lady Morgana is a very attractive sample of the female of the human species. But by wolf logic of finding a mate? Well, human males would probably claim that they would rather die before they form an attachment with an alpha female. Honestly, what is it with humans? With wolves, alpha males mate with alpha females or an alpha mates with an omega and the alphas don't let the omegas mate with each other, that's a good system. Why are the males – who Merlin should mention, mostly seem to be omegas if he's being honest – of humans so against the idea of alpha females. They want stronger offspring, don't they? Then they should let the females prove themselves as alphas.

Arthur talks with Morgana while Gwen walks up to where Merlin is sitting. She stands beside him and strokes his forehead as they both watch Arthur and Lady Morgana talk.

"She looks great, doesn't she?"

Merlin nods absentmindedly. He doesn't share the same attraction to the female of the species like his human counterparts do. He's met a few dire wolves, omegas and alphas, but because of his attachment to the humans of his village, he never really got to settle down with a female. He proved himself to be an alpha, yes, but took no interest in any of the females. And none of the females took an interest in him, so it's perfectly fine. Besides, human women are just too skinny and dainty for his liking. How can they even support a full human inside of themselves when they are _that_ thin?

"Some people are just born to be queen," Gwen says enthusiastically and almost dreamily.

Merlin doesn't see it. Again, he's using wolf logic. A king should be an alpha and so should his queen. Lady Morgana… she could be an alpha, but she's just to dainty – she'd have to prove herself as an alpha. He looks at Gwen. She's not as dainty. She works hard, smells of wood and… is that a black smith shop he smells? She could be an alpha. Probably a better queen than Morgana. He nudges her and when she looks down at him, he gestures to her. She seems to get it.

"Oh, no. not me of course! Who'd want to marry Arthur?"

That is true, he is a prick after all. But he is an alpha from what Merlin can tell. But if Merlin is going to guide him to be a great king, he's going to make sure that the woman that Arthur marries is a strong alpha. Like Gwen.

Suddenly, there are celebratory horns playing. King Uther enters when everyone settles down. Gwen straightens her spine and removes her hand from Merlin's head, opting to fold both of her hands in front of her. Uther walks up to the table where he, Arthur and Morgana are meant to be seated, but instead of sitting, he picks up a chalice and holds it up to the room. No one else sits, but they do find a place where they are meant to be seated and wait until the king's word. He says a little more than one.

"We have enjoyed twenty years of peace and prosperity," he says in a speech worthy voice. "It has brought the kingdom and myself many pleasures."

He pauses for dramatic effect, slowly waving his chalice back in forth as if pointing to every person in the room before bringing it back to the center. He points it at the stage, but all eyes remain on him.

"… But few can compare with the honor of introducing Lady Helen of Mora."

" _He definitely wrote that down and then practiced it in the mirror,"_ Merlin can't help but think.

Lady Helen steps up onto the stage as everyone sits – everyone who has an accessible seat at least, Gwen remains standing. Merlin thinks Lady Helen's dress is hideous, but then again, even with all his fur, Merlin is technically the only one in the room who is naked. Wolves don't really wear clothes… ever. Again, Gwen gives a better example of the female of the species.

The music begins before she starts to sing, but Merlin can already smell the magic radiating off of her. He doesn't growl, but he does stand up and fold his ears slightly back. Arthur sees him out of the corner of his eye and gives him a warning glare. Merlin visually relaxes his posture some, but remains on alert. The song continues, and the magic grows. It almost sounds like wolf howling, or at least a lone female wolf howling and waiting for a male to join in with her. But it also sounds like an enchantment.

Lady Helen slowly steps off the stage and begins walking between the two tables on either side of the room. She is walking towards the royal table. All of the people in the room start to nod off, but Merlin only really notices it when Gwen starts leaning her weight on him. Looking at all the people, including Gaius and the royals, He notices that cobwebs are starting to form all around the room, the candles dying out too. Gwen is on the ground now with her head against Merlin's side. He lays her down, and when he turns to face the room again, Lady Helen is almost to the royal table. There are cobwebs _everywhere_ , there is an excessive amount of cobwebs. Why isn't he being affected like everyone else?

She is still singing as she pulls a dagger out of her sleeve. Merlin looks about frantically. She doesn't seem to notice him, whether it be his dark fur in the darkened room or how engrossed she is in her task, or both even. She is standing under the chandelier just as her arm is pulling back. Merlin acts before he completes the thought. His eyes glow gold, and whether she notices his golden orbs or not does not matter. After all, a chandelier is crashing down on her.

He steps forward a bit. Getting into a defensive position. While crouching on stairs is a little difficult, he manages. He stares intensely at her. In his peripheral vision, he sees all the humans coming to. They murmur in confusion as they pull at the cobwebs. Surprisingly, none of them freak out like he thought they would.

The King and the prince are among them. They pull a majority of the webs off, but a few still hang from their clothing as they stand. They peer over the table and are astonished to see the elderly mother of the deceased sorcerer that had been executed the day prior. She staggers as she pushes her torso off the ground. She sneers at the two of them. They just stand there as if they've seen a ghost. She raises the knife again.

And throws it.

At the stunned prince.

It travels fast, and Merlin is already slowing down time before he even realizes it. He uses his powerful haunches and pushes off the stairs towards Arthur. He lands just next to the prince and uses his height, lifting slightly off the ground to grab the heavy clothing on the prince's right shoulder, somehow managing to not bite skin. He pulls the shoulder and the prince that is attached to said shoulder while simultaneously pushing his hind legs off of the area just behind where the prince is standing, or was standing.

Time slowly fades back and Merlin adjusts to it. The prince doesn't find his footing and trips over his own feet. Luckily, Merlin uses his body to cushion the prince's fall. But only for a quick few seconds does he lay there under the prince before instinct takes over again and forces him to stand in between the prince and the sorceress. For the first time since he arrived at the castle, he lets out a real growl. A deep _predatory_ growl. He flattens his ears, tenses his muscles, crouches his legs, narrows his azure eyes and bears his pearly white and _sharp_ teeth.

The elderly woman merely moans in distress, before evaporating into nothing. Leaving behind an ugly dress under a chandelier.

The sorceress may not have reacted to his growl, but many others did. Most of the people jump back, almost toppling over the benches that they were sitting on just moments ago, or even the people that they had been sitting next to, just to get away from him.

He continues to stare down the spot that had been occupied by the elderly sorceress, but he is no longer growling. After a few moments and a few murmurs from the crowd, Merlin finally realizes that he is in fact, standing amongst a large group of dire wolf killers and wearers – that's a weird and somehow real word. He looks about the room sheepishly, walking backwards until he bumps into someone's leg. He looks back to see that Arthur has stood up and is the owner of said leg that he has bumped into. He notices that the king is also staring at him with his mouth agape.

Merlin turns his body to start walking backwards to the stair well that Gwen is still in.

"Stop," says the king.

Merlin obliges.

"You saved my boy's life," he says, walking up to Merlin and putting a confident hand on Merlin's head. "A dept must be repaid."

That should sound weird considering Merlin's a dire wolf, but it's not like anyone's going to say anything against the king. Especially when Merlin did in fact save Arthur's life.

"This merits something quite special," the king says, almost to himself.

Merlin looks about the room, uncertainty on his wolfish features. He meets Gaius's eyes. The old physician still looks surprised, but otherwise amused.

"I knew that you were to arrive, and that you are mainly to assist Gaius and his practices," says Uther. "I am also aware that I have asked of you to act as a guard at the palace…"

Merlin doesn't quite see where this going. The king is the only one who really seems to know. At least he does once a look of happy determination takes over his face.

"… You're task as a guard shall be named to a narrowed down party."

People are quietly murmuring again. Merlin would like to leave, these are exactly the people he doesn't want to be in the same room as. But then again, if the King gives him such a praise, then no noble would dare request to have his pelt. But they're still killers of his kind, so it is still uncomfortable being under their scrutiny.

"You shall still work for Gaius and be housed in his office," continues Uther. "But you shall now be Prince Arthur's guardian."

"Father!"

The whole room erupts in applause. It hurts Merlin's ears. Never mind the fact that the king was just talking to him as if he understood, which of course, Merlin could understand – maybe word has passed on to even the king of how extraordinary of a dire wolf Merlin is. Merlin wants to leave now. He looks around the room sheepishly. He looks once at the prince and accidently makes eye contact. They immediately look away from each other, one looking mildly angry, and the other… has his literal tail almost completely between his legs. All of the nobles are looking at him. He even hears an older noble lady complement his sleek black fur and another noble say how "beautiful he is". He wants to leave, but doesn't know if he should. He'll leave when either Gaius or Arthur leave.

" _Well… this will be an interesting adventure."_


	8. Chapter 8

Merlin, once again, finds himself disliking human clothing. This time around, it's not so much because of the red scarf that Arthur somehow tied around his neck; but more so because of the ridiculous metal suits that humans call armor. He's being forced to sit and watch a serving boy dress the prince in his tournament armor. Sure, it protects them some, but it seems that everyone knows the openings and unprotected crevices and go for those. He's pretty sure their own swords go straight through the chest plates sometimes. It just doesn't seem practical. If they really want a rush of adrenaline, they should do it without the armor. You know, how they make canines do it, minus the part where one absolutely has to die. Merlin's gotten into some fights, and he's sitting here perfectly fine.

The servant finishes by handing Arthur his sword. With a polite bow, he leaves when the prince flicks his wrist towards the door.

"Well, how do I look?" Arthur asks Merlin, as if he's expecting an answer.

Merlin tilts his head as if in thought while he makes sure Arthur can see the way his eyes are scanning up and down the prince's body. He straightens his head, looks Arthur in eye, and then shakes his head. Oh, how Merlin would love to tell the prince that he looks stupid – by wolf standards – and far too shiny. But alas, Merlin can't verbally tell him. Arthur still gets it.

"I don't think your fashion opinion really counts since you're the one here who is butt naked," Arthur says as he nitpicks on some wrinkles on the cloth over his shoulder.

Merlin adjusts himself where he sits so that he can raise his left hind leg and scratch at his neck, or more specifically, the red scarf around said neck. Arthur rolls his eyes at him, rolls his whole head too.

"That is to show that you are supposed to be here," He says as he starts walking out of the room, Merlin close on his heels. "With all the knights and other guests that will be coming, they might think you're a rouge wolf and kill you on the spot."

Merlin makes a strange grunting noise mixed with a low howl.

"Oh, do you really want to know what would happen if you fought a knight, Merlin?" Arthur challenges, looking over his shoulder at him.

Merlin shuts up.

" _Stupid humans. They always win, even when they lose."_

They continue walking for a bit, heading out towards the arena. Up ahead in a corridor that connects to the one that the two of them are walking in, Merlin hears a confident set of male footsteps. There is the sound of a cape flapping roughly as the figure marches forward. There is also a second set of male steps that are trying to keep up with the other set. Merlin identifies the owner of the marching footsteps and immediately straightens up and wears a look of professionalism. Arthur notices of course and fixes his posture as well, just in time, as the king turns the corner towards them, a servant close behind.

"Ah, Arthur," Uther says.

"Father," is Arthur's calm reply.

"I was just on my way to see you."

"Do you need something?"

"Yes," he nods to Merlin who schools his surprise at being the center of attention. "I plan to have Merlin seated by my side during the tournament."

Arthur looks confused – and Merlin feels confused – and he is about to say something to his father before Uther holds up a hand to silence him, continuing to explain.

"He will walk with you to the lineup, but as soon as you are with the other contenders, he will come to me. It will allow him close access to the arena in the case of an emergency for anyone, as well as to show _all_ contenders and audience members that cheating and interference with the tournament will not be tolerated."

"You think someone would cheat?" Arthur asks, perplexed by his father's sudden accusation.

"No," he looks at Merlin again. "And he'll make sure of it."

Merlin stands his ground and nods at the king before he realizes what he did. Uther doesn't seem to bothered. A little surprised, yes. He puts a gloved hand on Merlin's head.

"A smart one he is."

"Yes," Arthur responds stiffly.

Uther looks at his son again, straight in the eye.

"He can be a little late if necessary, but he has to come to me before the first match begins," he gestures to the servant behind him. "He'll be walking with you to the lineup. Once you are there, he will lead Merlin to where he needs to go."

Arthur nods curtly.

"I wish you luck."

With that, Uther walks off and down another corridor. Arthur resumes his own walk and the servant walks silently behind him on the opposite side of Merlin. Seeing as the king is no longer around, Merlin drops his tough wolf act and walks normally. Arthur does so too, but he always walks with a professional step, so it's hard to see, Merlin just knows what to look for.

The walk is long and awkwardly silent.

Merlin has just left with that serving boy. They didn't actually accompany him all the way to the lineup, just outside of the weapon stacks. It was Arthur's idea, he sent them away. It will still take them a bit to get to the stage, but Arthur figures that his father _wants_ Merlin to make a somewhat late entrance for dramatic appeal. Arthur also decided that it would be better if the first time that the other contenders see Merlin, is on the stage. It'll make it look like Merlin's loyalty lies with the king – which it does – and so that Merlin won't be defensive of Arthur at every turn. First impression is always important.

He loves a good tournament. The adrenaline is amazing, especially when he's up against a really challenging opponent.

The lineup starts marching towards the arena. He's in the back row. It's how he shows that he doesn't want to win just because he's the prince. He doesn't stand at the head of the pack to show off. He'll win by himself; with his skill, not his title. They march around the corner and Arthur takes in the sight of the crowd. As he thought, Merlin isn't there yet and neither is his father. He sees Morgana and Gwen seated in the front row near the stage where his father is to be seated. There is quite a crowd today, but Arthur doesn't get to look around at all the faces for long, because his father walks out onto the field, still no Merlin.

"Knights of the realm, it's a great honor to welcome you to a tournament at Camelot," says Uther as he stands before the contenders on the arena floor. "Over the next three days, you will come to put your bravery to the test, your skills as warriors, and of course, to challenge the reigning champion… my son, Prince Arthur."

He has heard this speech many times before. In different ways of course, because his father is always one to write original speeches. When his father mentions him, Arthur sees one knight, cloth of yellow, insignia of three green snakes, in the front left of the lineup turn to eye him. He looks Arthur up in down. Arthur decides to return the favor. He doesn't really think much of him. He knows never to underestimate an opponent, but he's not about to overestimate this guy either. Their eyes meet before the knight turns to face the king. He's not turning away like a coward, the way he does it, it's like he doesn't see Arthur as a challenge.

" _Cocky I see."_

Arthur stays where he is. He won't go picking a fight, especially not with a knight. Besides, this is a tournament. There's a good chance he'll get to fight this guy, that is, if this knight gets far on his side of the board.

His father is already walking up to his little stage where his seat is. A serving girl goes to stand on the stage beside him, a small but obviously heavy chest in her grasp. She holds it on her forearms in a way that she cannot open the lid herself without accidentally dropping it.

"Only one can have the honor of being crowned champion, and he will receive a prize of 1,000 gold pieces."

Uther opens the chest lid and the serving girl angles the chest, luckily not dropping it, and shows it's contents to the contenders as well as the crowd. Arthur can practically see some of the crowd members drooling over the sight of the gold. Arthur doesn't really care for the prize. He's here for the tournament itself. But speaking of things that drool. Just as Uther closes the chest and the girl sets it down on a high table near the king's seat, a figure of dark fur walks up to the stage. People gasp and scoot away. There is murmuring. Arthur notices that the people who do said things are dressed in colors in support of other contenders. The Camelot viewers don't seem all too surprised. Merlin walks up the few steps up to the stage, passing by the serving girl as she makes her leave. Arthur notes that Merlin isn't walking in his normal way. At the moment, he looks like a hunter, a pack leader, proudly walking over his territory. He walks up to the king, somehow making himself look bigger than he already is and rounds behind the chair before sitting down. He's facing the contenders with a look that almost reads disinterest. But whatever expression it is, it looks _predatory_. Some of the other knights flinch back, but only a little. Arthur secretly admits that he probably would too if he wasn't already used to seeing the dire wolf.

Looking at his father, Arthur can clearly see how amused Uther is by everyone's unease caused by Merlin's presence. If viewers don't want to deal with a scary dire wolf, then they won't try to steal the gold or interfere with the competition. And the contenders would think wisely before cheating under the scrutiny of the black beast.

"It is in combat that we learn a knight's true nature, whether he is indeed a warrior…" he looks at Merlin, but the dire wolf continues to stare at the contenders, making some of them squirm. "… or a coward."

Uther faces the contenders again. He smiles brightly at them and the crowd around the arena, as if he didn't just make a silent threat to unleash a dire wolf in the case of cheating.

"The tournament begins!"

The crowd cheers. Uther sits down in his chair and raises one hand to place on top of Merlin's head. The dire wolf watches Arthur and the other knight who stays behind as the other contenders leave the arena to await their turn. A servant removes Arthur's cloak, and he looks over to see the other knight having his cloak removed by another servant as well. With one last look at his father and the statue like Merlin, receiving a nod from his father, Arthur situates his helmet over his head.

Merlin is surprised that the humans around him are enjoying this tournament so much. He guesses that he can kind of see the appeal to it. It's just…

Merlin does his best to remain as stoic as he is.

" _This is nothing compared to the canine fights."_

The most damage that Merlin has seen so far in this tournament is a few dented armor pieces – including a helmet – and a few torn cloths. At a canine fight… They never even bother cleaning up all the blood and patches of fur. They don't really care about the smell of canine carcasses and feces either. In fact, they like to hang up the head of the losing animals all over the stadium.

Merlin brings his focus back to the present time when knight Valiant is named today's final winner. Merlin studies him over.

" _And I thought Arthur smelled too domineering."_

With today's portion of the tournament done, Merlin waits until everyone else leaves, just to take in the sight of the arena for a bit longer. To stare at the lack of blood and to smell only sweat and the snacks of the viewers.

A strong gloved hand suddenly claps him on the head. Not hard, but not gently either. He looks up to see Uther.

"Return to Arthur," is all he says before turning to make his own leave.

Merlin takes on last look at the arena. He takes off towards the racks – of weapons. In truth, he could have arrived at the little stage before Uther even started speaking, but the serving boy had apparently been told to hold him off until a certain part of the speech. Uther wanted him to have an entrance that got the attention of the crowd and contenders, an entrance that would scare them. This means that the trip back to the racks is fairly quick.

He decides to keep up his tough wolf act until none of the knights are around. He has a part to play, so he can't go about breaking his cover… either of them.

Arthur is having his armor removed by another servant. He approaches them slowly in the same stature as when he approached the stage. A lot of people move out of his way.

"Ah, Merlin," calls Arthur.

Merlin just continues to walk towards him. He walks past servants and knights, not bothering to give them a warm greeting or a stank eye – he is team Arthur after all. But upon passing one knight with a shield, Merlin hears snakes hissing. Merlin's ears naturally swivel to follow the sound. Merlin grew up in a forest, he knows snakes and isn't scared of them. But there aren't snakes here, and more importantly… shields don't hiss like snakes. Merlin turns his head curiously and almost slowly.

It's Valiant.

His shield does have three snakes on it, but only as a design, an insignia. Merlin tilts his ears and unconsciously starts following the knight, or more specifically, the shield. He hears the hiss again, definitely coming from the shield.

Before he can continue to follow the shield however, a hand grabs at his scarf. Merlin could easily just keep walking; the scarf would come undone. But Merlin still stops to look up and see who is stopping him on his little hunt.

"Where do you think you're going?" Arthur says, looking annoyed but a tad bit concerned and curious.

Merlin looks in the direction that Valiant was going, only to find that he has disappeared. His scent trail is still very much fresh and Merlin would have no trouble following it. But all he does is stare it down.

Beside him, Arthur looks in the same direction. He probably knows who he was following. He also seems to know that he shouldn't completely brush off Merlin's sudden distraction. All he does is tell Merlin to follow him in a different direction. There's a chance he'll let Merlin go on his little goose chase, or snake chase rather, later on, but for now, there's a feast to get ready for.


	9. Chapter 9

Arthur doesn't like Valiant, sure, but he can't just accuse a knight of anything because he's doing good. But Merlin is a dire wolf. He senses something too. He's vibrating with energy; _Negative_ energy! He's on full alert, at every second. Arthur had to physically pull Merlin towards his chambers when the stupid beast and he had passed Valiant's room. The scarf came undone when he pulled on that, and Merlin didn't react when Arthur accidentally pulled some his fur out when he tried pulling on said fur.

So, Arthur does have some reason to be suspicious of Valiant. After all, Uther did want Merlin to watch out for cheaters. Merlin didn't react to any of the other contenders and he wasn't there to see the two knights checking out to the completion in each other. Whatever it is that's driving Merlin mad about Sir Valiant, it's a real problem.

Even now, while going over his paper work in his chambers while waiting for the feast to be held tonight, Merlin is staring down the door to his room like… well… a wolf starring down it's prey. Arthur isn't getting much work done actually. He's deciding whether or not he should let Merlin go hunt whatever it is he's looking for, whether it be Valiant himself or something that belongs to him. It's an out there thought, but it might be something magic. Arthur has faith in other knights, he would never accuse someone of sorcery because they do well in a tournament; Arthur would also be guilty if that were the case. It's just, after the incident with Lady Helen, or rather Mary Collins, Arthur has decided that trusting Merlin when it comes to magic is a must. Merlin had seemed to know that Mary was disguised as Lady Helen, or that she simply had magic since he first met her. He tried to warn Arthur, had even started getting defensive at the celebration, but Arthur ignored his warnings.

Arthur looks up at Merlin, who has not moved a muscle, looking like the most realistic statue ever. He's staring down that wooden door like he's having a staring contest with it.

Arthur taps his quill against the table.

No reaction.

He shakes out some papers like there's no tomorrow.

No reaction.

He scoots his chair back, slowly, letting the feet of the chair make the most annoying and high pitch scratching sound against the floor.

How in all of Camelot, is he not reacting to that? Don't dire wolves have the best hearing? It's hurting Arthur's own bloody ears!

"Merlin," he calls.

When Merlin does not react, Arthur stands up and walks over to the beast.

"Merlin," he calls again when he is halfway to the door.

No reaction.

The beast only reacts to the prince when he barely grazes his fingers over his fur. Merlin actually startles and looks up at Arthur with a frightened look in his eyes, as if he really didn't know Arthur was even in the room.

Arthur sighs. He _really_ can't go making accusations out of nowhere. And even if Merlin can smell magic and was even ordered by the king to watch over the tournament to prevent cheating – and using magic in the tournament is most definitely cheating – there is nothing that Arthur can do that won't make him look like a coward. If he blatantly accuses Sir Valiant of sorcery and cheating out of nowhere when they haven't fought and are on opposite towers on the board, it'll look like he thinks Valiant is a good enough challenge to beat him and is only making such accusations to remain as the reigning champion.

But that doesn't mean that Merlin can't be a dire wolf.

"The feast will be at 5, but the contenders will be introducing themselves to my father and to Lady Morgana at 4 in the throne room. You should be there, probably arrive ten minutes prior. My father doesn't want you at the feast because of well… you're an animal."

He opens the door but Merlin continues to stare at him, confused.

"Go find whatever it is that you are looking for, but don't get caught."

Merlin looks him in the eyes, nods and then leaves.

Curse timing. Why does the universe hate him? First making him a dire wolf, then deciding that he is the warlock Emrys, then sending him to Camelot, the home of the man who has people killed for just the suspicion of magic, then said man giving him an official position in the castle and now, he can't even properly find evidence privately. It would probably be better if Arthur could look with him, but he can't for some reason.

The main problem is Valiant. He's currently in the room he's being provided with the shield. Merlin needs the shield, _alone_. Sure, he could take on the human no problem, but the problem is that Valiant is a knight. Just because he knows how to use a sword better than others doesn't make him a bigger challenge, it just means he's under the king's protection while he's here. Arthur would get in just as much trouble if Valiant complained to Uther. He'll have to get the shield another time, when Valiant isn't around. He'll just go when he's at the feast.

"Ah, Merlin," calls someone who sounds a lot like Gaius.

Merlin turns to face the voice. It is Gaius, and he has the herb basket on his forearm.

" _Oh, right… Datura flower."_

The Datura flower – all 9 different species – is a poisonous flower, but is said to have medical purposes. Gaius wants to study them. It's also the second Friday of the month, and that means, hunt and kill night. The one night of the month where Merlin hunts for his own food. The purpose of this night is to allow Merlin to expel a lot of his energy and mentally challenge him so that he doesn't become stressed and attack a person. And it's always at night so that it's a more challenging mental stimulation.

Merlin looks down the hallway that Valiant's room is connected to. He's technically mentally challenging himself by trying to figure out why the shield was hissing. But…

"Merlin," Gaius almost singsongs his name, but it also very much a warning.

Merlin submits. He could have just been imagining the hissing. It could have been someone moving something and the sound was likened to a snake, and Merlin's magnificent ears picked it up. No, he knows what he heard. Besides, Gaius has been looking forward to tonight for a long time. Gaius could safely find and pick some Datura samples and Merlin would be nearby and find a meal. Knowing himself and the schedule of the night trip, Merlin will have to take his meal back to the palace and eat it somewhere. He's not going to eat it in his room. It'll be a bloody mess and the smell of the carcass… Gaius would never let him hear the end of it. No, he'll find a peaceful place.

He follows Gaius and they make their way to the edge of the forest.

This is torture. When it comes to gloating, it's only ever fun when you're the one doing it, it's never fun when you have to listen to someone else gloat. Valiant isn't really gloating, he's just being… something. Arthur is not jealous, it's Morgana's fault, she's the one who's acting likes she's pinning after Valiant. It's obviously her fault, and Merlin. It's always Merlin's fault. He didn't even show up to the introduction! Where is he?

Luckily, while at the feast, another knight asks the question before Arthur has to.

"Where's the wolf, if I may ask?"

Everyone calms down and turns to the king to hear his response. Uther takes a sip of his wine and sets it down slowly, never one to feel pressured.

"My court physician said that he required Merlin – the dire wolf, for a night search of a flower that he needs for his studies."

He cuts into some meat, signaling that he is done speaking. But Morgana has something to say too.

"I heard that too," she says, turning many heads for both meanings of the phrase. "My maid told me that the trip is also beneficial for Merlin."

"How so?" asks a knight.

" _Yeah, how so?"_ Arthur asks in his head.

Morgana smiles, obviously glad to be the center of attention. She sets down the wine she was holding.

"My maid explained to me that Merlin needs something called mental stimulation. And so once or twice a month, he's taken out into the forest at night."

"To do what?" Arthur asks before any other knight can, causing Morgana to grin at him, probably knowing that he's a little jealous, especially after the greetings in the throne room.

"To hunt for his own food, of course," she smiles. "And apparently, he's going to have to bring his kill back."

"He is now, is he?" Uther asks, probably not pleased with the idea of an animal corpse being dragged around his castle.

"Gaius said he'll eat it near the castle. He's only bringing it back because Gaius is returning. Can't have our favorite physician wandering alone in the night, now can we?" She says with her lips around her wine that she picked up again.

Arthur can't wait until the next feast. For that one, Morgana will definitely not be there. Knights only… plus the king. But ignoring that part of the feast, Arthur actually starts to process what Morgana is saying. It makes sense, that because Merlin is a dire wolf, he needs to hunt every now and then for his own food, but it still surprises Arthur to hear this.

"They left hours ago now that I think of it," Morgana says with a contemplating look on her face. "So they should be returning soon."

"And just in time, apparently. It would appear we've finished our own meal," a knight jokes, others laughing with him.

Arthur doesn't laugh. He shifts his gaze to Valiant and witnesses him wrap something up in a napkin, which he stuffs in his belt. It looked to be meat, but Arthur looks away before Valiant can see him.

"Well, so long as Merlin doesn't make a mess, it'll be fine," Uther says, gesturing for a servant to take his plate away.

"But I doubt you would let something as little as some animal blood ruin your trust in him," Morgana says with a hint of teasing.

"I suppose you're right. Merlin can sense magic, and that's something I need in a guard animal."

Again, Arthur adverts his gaze to Valiant. Out of the corner of his eyes, he sees the other knights wear looks of pleased astonishment or just looks of surprise. Valiant on the other hand, twitches and a flash of fear appears in his eyes. But when he looks at Arthur who does not look away this time, Valiant schools his expression into that of a challenging one.

" _Game on, Valiant."_

Valiant is not a coward. He does not see himself as one. He is a winner, he'll win by whatever means necessary. But the dire wolf – the one they call Merlin, he could be a problem. He'll have to do something about the wolf, because Valiant is certain that the beast is already on to him. The Prince might be on to him as well. But if something were to happen to the wolf out of nowhere, the tournament could be halted before Valiant gets to the top.

The prince won't do anything. He can be as suspicious of Valiant as much as he wants, but there is nothing he can do. The wolf on the other hand… It's a beast, it doesn't think, it kills when it wants. Animals don't reason. The idea that the wolf can smell magic is probably just something said to scare the knights further. No animal can smell magic!

He might have to have one of the snakes go after him, killing the beast with a sword or any other weapon at all will be too suspicious.

Valiant turns the corner and halts in his tracks. He sees the wolf, and Lady Morgana wasn't kidding when she mentioned the wolf going hunting.

While the corridors are lined with torches, the courtyard, where the beast is enjoying his meal, is only illuminated by the moon. It's mostly cloudy, but there is a gap in the heavy grey that lets the moon shine down on the stone area. The Beast, the wolf, _Merlin_ is pitch black from the lack of light, but the moon does reflect in his crystal eyes when he looks up at Valiant. The corpse, the prey of the magnificent beast, is a large buck with mighty antlers. Hunters would be damned for having missed their chance at killing such a buck; but alas, the real hunter has caught it first. Most of it is gone, and Valiant can see the reflections of the moon in the puddles of blood. He can't tell what's scarier; How the wolf looks now, as only a shadow with pale light eyes, or how he could look, up close and the blood dripping down his furred chin and pearly teeth and looking so much bigger if he were standing over the knight.

Obviously, a beast as big as a dire wolf has to eat a lot, but Valiant questions if the wolf will be able to eat that whole buck. Feeling reassured that the beast will not need to feast on him as well, Valiant turns onto the walkway and continues to his room. And he will deny it if you claimed he was walking faster than normal.

Merlin feels very satisfied. He spent a good hour tracking the buck, a quick minute of a free run chase after it and then he was generous enough to kill it quickly rather than draw out it's death like humans enjoy doing. Gaius had called for him and Merlin couldn't hide the bounce in his step and the happy wag in his tail when he dragged the buck back to the castle. He decided to eat in the courtyard. One, because it'll be easy to clean it out there. Two, it's supposed rain tonight, only a little, but enough to wash always the blood. And three, because Valiant has to walk pass the courtyard to get to his room from the dining room. Valiant didn't completely freak out when he saw Merlin in the courtyard, but it was still satisfying to smell the fear on him. After that he threw the bones away like a good dire wolf and then went straight to bed.

He decided to keep up his good wolf act in the morning, and went to meet the servant that has been helping Arthur with his armor and walked with him to the armory to pick up the prince's cleaned armor. They walked in, the servant started collecting the pieces and then…

 _Hiss_

Merlin immediately falls into a defensive position and while he may not have seen the servant jump in surprise, he did hear the helmet hit the table when he drops it.

"Hello?" the boy calls. "Is someone there?"

There's more hissing and Merlin sees it, the shield, _Valiant's_ shield. The boy notices it to and walks towards it while Merlin only crouches lower to the ground. The boy doesn't completely block the view thankfully, and Merlin, while farther away from the shield, can still see one of the snakes on the shield blink. The boy, who Merlin is proud to say is brave, reaches his hand forward as if to run his hand over the snake design. But before he can, Merlin hears footsteps and then… there is a sword being pointed at the boy's chest. The servant freezes instinctively. Merlin is in a position where he can't see the person holding the sword, which means that he can't see Merlin.

"Can I help you with something, boy?" says a familiar voice.

" _Valiant."_

The servant freaks out a little, obviously at a loss at what to say.

"N-nope. I-I-I'm good. I, I was just…"

Merlin sees the sword be pushed further into the boy's chest, not enough to break skin or even his clothing, but still very much a threat. Merlin makes himself known, going to protect the boy and make Valiant leave or simply back away. He growls and moves in quickly. But instead of Valiant backing away, he swipes the sword towards Merlin and actually cuts the back of Merlin's neck a little, because of where he was aiming, probably at the supposed chest of a person, if Merlin was a person. Merlin ignores the slight sting, he's felt worse. He growls at Valiant and Valiant stares him in the eye, only moving his sword to point it at Merlin's nose.

Behind him, Merlin can hear the sound of the servant scrambling to his feet and grabbing Arthur's armor. He makes for the door, almost tripping over himself when he passes Valiant.

"Sorry, sir. Come on Merlin."

He bolts through the door not really waiting for Merlin to follow him. When Merlin starts to move past the knight, he lets a little yellow stream hit his shield. The shield's yellow anyway, it's not like it matters. Valiant still seems to know what the liquid is.

When the servant and Merlin _finally_ arrived to start dressing Arthur, he was about ready to yell, but the pale face servant rushes in with Merlin on his heels, drops the armor on the table – none to gently – and immediately kneels next to Merlin, placing his hands on the top of Merlin's neck. When the boy lifts one of his shaking hands, Arthur sees blood.

"What happened?"

"W-we were going to fetch your armor from the armory," Arthur nods along, grabbing a nearby cloth and pushing it down on the wound that is a little hard to see because of Merlin's dark fur. "A-and I heard hissing, a, a snake. Merlin heard it too! And when I went to investigate it…"

He stops there. Looking unsure of how to continue. Arthur looks to Merlin who is looking at the servant. The big wolf nudges the boy with his muzzle, as if encouraging him to continue. Arthur doesn't have any patience for this.

"Spit it out."

The boy startles, but none the less, he continues.

"I-it sounded like… it was coming from Sir Valiant's shield. And I saw one of the snakes on his shield blink."

The boy looks like a doe that knows that there is nowhere to go to escape. He's pale and sweating like he just did a few hours of training. He looks bloody terrified.

"You saw the snake _design_ blink?"

Merlin gives Arthur a glare. While Arthur is in agreement that Valiant is a little strange, his shield blinking is a little out there.

"I-I could have been imagining it, Sire," the boy offers. "Maybe a trick of the light?"

It sounds like the boy is trying to convince himself more than Arthur. The prince looks back at Merlin and removes the now bloodied cloth. He puts his free hand where the wound is and when he pulls that hand away, only flakes of dried blood are stuck to his hand. It's not bleeding anymore, thankfully. He can't deal with this now, and the wound isn't that deep to begin with. Besides, Gaius is probably out at the arena already. Arthur stands and walks over to where Merlin's scarf is laid out, already folded and waiting to be tied around the wolf's neck. He grabs it, walks back to Merlin and proceeds to wrap it around his neck, making sure the damp fur is covered by it.

"Get me into my armor and we'll go down to the arena. You go find Gaius when you're done here, tell him about the cut," Arthur says while moving away from Merlin to await his dressing.

The servant finishes at an amazing speed, and there are no flaws that Arthur can see. Arthur dismisses him and the prince and Merlin walk towards the arena at a slow pace, at least slower than the servant who is running at a mad pace to find Gaius.

It's really weird to Merlin. Even after all the time he spent with Gaius, the villagers and his previous _owner_ , it amazes him when someone starts to worry about him and tends to his wounds. He spent a good two-thirds of his life in the village, but the first third of his life still keeps him on edge around humans. The servant fretting about him, sure, Merlin could understand that; the boy saw him get cut by the sword and didn't know how deep it is. But the prince? Merlin did not see that coming. He feels a little bad about not having faith in the prince to care about others' wellbeing.

They parted ways when they reached the racks and Gaius approached him shortly after that. He checked out the cut, and bandaged it when no one could see them. He made sure that the bandage isn't visible, being hidden by the red scarf.

Merlin walked up to the stage and laid down with his head perked. With the new risk discovered in the armory, Merlin is going to pay closer attention to the tournament than he did yesterday, especially when Valiant is competing. Arthur plays in a match first and it's an easy win for him.

" _Go figure."_

Next is Valiant. Merlin remains as passive as he can. No one knows of what he did. Merlin can't do anything right now. He's competing against a young knight whose name, if Merlin remembers correctly, is Ewan. They fight, and Ewan proves to be a good challenge for Valiant. They exchange slashes and swipes of their swords. They parry and block their opponent's attack with their shields.

" _Scaredy cats. Hiding behind shields."_

Then, out of nowhere, Valiant knocks Ewan to the ground. Ewan's helmet rolls off his head and his stress contorted face becomes visible for all to see. Ewan is still struggling, not willing to give up. Valiant is not about to give up either. Ewan should just surrender, there's nothing he can do when he's pinned to the ground like that.

"Strike him!"

Merlin is on his feet. That was not a crowd member who screamed that, because it was not a scream, and it was not a crowd member. Valiant said that. Sir Ewan's face twists into a look of fear for what Merlin can see, but everything else is hidden behind the two shields.

"Strike him!" Valiant says again, louder, but still too quiet for others to hear.

Others beside Ewan and Merlin.

Ewan grunts and scrunches his eyes shut. He collapses and Valiant lifts himself up and makes a victory motion with his arms. The crowd cheers.

Sir Ewan is not moving.

Merlin is over the barrier in front of him before he knows it and he, as well as Gaius, are at the fallen knight's side in an instant. He's out cold.

The crowd, a majority of it anyway, are still cheering. Merlin tunes them out. Not because he needs to focus completely on Sir Ewan – which is part of it actually – but more so because it reminds him of the canine fights.

" _They always cheer the loudest when one is down for the count."_


	10. Chapter 10

It was torture. Having to continue to sit through the tournament when there was a patient in Gaius's office that needed attention. When today's portion of the tournament was finished, leaving two matches left for tomorrow, Merlin bolted for the physician's quarters, not bothering with attending Arthur.

The big black wolf bursts through the door, using magic so that he doesn't have to literally bust it down. Sir Ewan is laid out on Gaius's bed – because the old physician always gives the patients his bed. He looks a lot worse. He looks to have a fever, which is absolutely preposterous because since when does a sword fight immediately result in a fever?!

"It's most odd," Gaius says once seeing that it is Merlin who walks in.

"What is?"

"Look at this," he says, but Merlin is already by the knight's side. "See these two small wounds. Looks like a snake bite."

Merlin looks at the small wounds, and sure enough, they look much like that of a snake bite. The dire wolf nudges his nose into the knight's neck to try to smell it. He mostly smells sweat, the strong fever and what must be his home smell, but there is still the distinctive smell of snake venom. He doesn't know what kind of snake bit him, but there is no questioning that it is indeed a snake bite. But still…

"He was injured in a sword fight."

"But the symptoms are consistent with poisoning: slow pulse, fever, paralysis," Gaius mumbles the symptoms, as if checking his own diagnosis.

Merlin can't argue with the facts, he can clearly smell the fever. It's not like Merlin _didn't_ completely expect this, he heard the snakes and saw one of them blink. He just wasn't expecting Valiant to strike someone so openly like that.

"We need the venom of the snake that bit him to make an antidote," Merlin states, this isn't the first time he's seen a person attacked by a snake.

"Indeed."

Merlin stares hard at the knight on the bed. Knights… one of the most dangerous types of humans. Excellent in battle, witty and brave. Merlin has feared knights before, as they are one of the types of man that hunt down his brethren. But here one is, looking so small and… vulnerable. Merlin feels a strange protective tug in his gut. He doesn't know why he feels this; Gaius and his previous _owner_ are the only humans he allowed himself to get attached to. There is of course the king, the prince, Morgana and Gwen, but Merlin hasn't really made a _familiar_ attachment to any of them… he doesn't even know if he ever will. So he's drawing up empty fishing nets for why he feels the need to protect this knight like he's his own pack member, or even his own pup.

"Valiant's shield," Merlin mumbles to himself.

"What was that?" Gaius questions, but Merlin is already out the door, using a wordless spell to close it behind him.

Merlin has been a lot more… not Merlin since Sir Ewan collapsed. He seems more defensive and on guard. He's either standing so still that Arthur has to double check that he isn't a statue or he's stalking the castle. The most noticeable behavior is that Merlin exhibits is his distrust of Valiant a lot more. He now openly growls at the knight and has been seen near Valiant's room and the armory. And it seems that the knight is much more evasive of the dire wolf also. He had stated that he is aware of the wolf staying outside his guest room for long periods of time. Surprisingly yet not so surprising, Uther brushed off the behavior as a result of the intense fight between Valiant and Sir Ewan. Sir Ewan was the first contender that actually got "knocked out" in the tournament, and because of the fallen knight's sudden and mysterious fever, the castle's resident black dire wolf may be over protective of the knight and his canine logic tells him that Valiant is to blame.

Never mind the other contenders that had to be carried out of the arena on stretchers. None of them got fevers out of it, but at least one guy left the arena with a broken arm. Arthur didn't see Merlin toughing up towards the contender responsible for said broken arm.

Arthur believes his father is just being a good host by not starting a conversation about the whole ordeal, but the prince thinks that his father is just being ignorant.

Arthur, unlike his father, knows that something is wrong with the whole picture. But he can't say anything, because his best evidence is the word of a servant. In cases such as someone stealing from the castle or sneaking into the castle, a servant's word is as valuable as two chests of treasure; but when it comes to accusing a knight of threatening a person and cheating in a tournament using magic, a servant's word is as valuable as a pebble's.

Arthur knows that something is wrong, he just needs more powerful evidence to prove it. Merlin could easily prove it, but he's a dire wolf. What's the overgrown dog going to do, talk? Yeah right, as if Merlin could actually talk.

But if his father's ignorance to the problem goes on any longer, Arthur might have to sneak around with Merlin to get evidence, or worse… ask Morgana for help. Cause if Arthur can see the-the… _problem_ , then this whole case can be solved before anyone else gets hurt.

But… Arthur doesn't want to look like a wuss and a pathetic coward by trying to get his opponent disqualified before the final fight even begins. The fight that has been put off till tomorrow for dramatic reasons.

The lunch the kitchen prepares is good, but Arthur doesn't really notice because he's to wrapped up in his thoughts. He watches Valiant closely, but doesn't stare at him.

The evidence is piling high, but Arthur just needs a witness, one that his father would trust.

"Are you all right Arthur?" the prince looks up to his father, just barely managing to school his shock at being called out of his thoughts. "You seem a little out of it."

"I was," Arthur clears his throat. "I was just thinking of Sir Ewan."

"Worried, or curious?" his father inquires.

Arthur is fully aware of all the eyes on him.

"Perhaps both. I had gone to visit him today, and Gaius said that his fever is the work of a snake bite."

"A snake bite?"

Arthur only nods. He watches Valiant out of the corner if his eye. The knight doesn't flinch, but he does stiffen some, pausing in his action of picking up his wine. Arthur sees it all. And while the other knights converse on this information, Arthur also notices a large shadow through the door. A shadow with bright eyes glowing gold, but Arthur tells himself it's the reflection of the torches. They make eye contact and then the shadow is gone, and Arthur already knows where the beast is going.

It looks like he'll have to buy Merlin more time. But Arthur can't figure out how he came to that conclusion. Perhaps it was the weird energy he felt when he had made eye contact with the dire wolf.

It's mostly silent in the corridor, and Merlin takes caution to watch the clacking of his claws. He had taken a big risk with the mind spell, but Arthur is an idiot, so the dire wolf thinks he'll be fine. He stands at Valiant's door for a moment, simply listening for the sounds of footsteps, but all he hears is the muffled conversation in the dining hall.

No one is around.

He looks at the lock on the knight's door and silently chants the spell, unlocking the door with ease. It opens just a smidge, but it's all Merlin needs. He pushes his snout against the wood and slowly opens the door, mindful of possible squeaking.

There, lo and behold, is the dreaded shield.

Merlin stands before it. If someone were to look at him now they might think he is sizing it up. The giant wolf simply stares at it, his azure eyes glinting in the torch light. As he studies the painted shield, a thought breaches his mind…

" _What the hell do I do now?"_

He turns his head, looking at every corner and surface in the room.

" _I honestly didn't think I would make it this far."_

A sudden footfall sounds from outside the room in the corridor. The black wolf whips his head around, his ears perked as he tries to identify the owner of the footfall. He hears a quiet slithering behind him, but keeps his ears to the door.

Then he sees it.

The flickering shadow.

A mirage of greys and torch light on the wall. A snake poising to strike. He sees, when the shadow twists it's head, a sliver of grey under the head of the shadow – it's fang.

The footfall pauses as another, louder, footfall approaches it, followed by a thundering voice. But Merlin doesn't pay attention to that.

He turns and immediately dodges the swift strike of the horrendous and scaly green monster – a snake like no other. There is a loud snap as the beast's jaw closes in on itself, but maybe it's just loud to Merlin as it was a maiden's hair away from his ear. By the door, there is a sword rack. He chants a quick spell and one of the heavy blades swings through the air without a physical being carrying it and slashes through the snake's neck, just behind the head. The sword clatters the ground with an abundance of loud noises, followed by the thud of the decapitated head and the hisses of the other two snakes as they decide to emerge from the shield as well.

Merlin could easily cut off the other two heads at that moment, but the footsteps are back and they are picking up their pace. Towards the room.

He grabs the decapitated head in his jaw and brushes through the door. He is at the end of the corridor when the footsteps reach the room he has just exited. He turns back and sees the mixed emotions on the face of the evil knight. The knight's gaze flickers between Merlin's eyes and the snake head in his mouth, but not for long as Merlin turns down an adjacent corridor, trotting back to Gaius' chambers.

Gaius takes a small vial and ties a cloth over it. When the cloth can't come loose and Gaius is satisfied with how it looks, he takes the snake head and punctures the cloth with its fangs. Merlin only watches out of the corner of his eye, he's more focused on Sir Ewan. The poor knight looks paler than before. Oh how Merlin wishes he could heal the knight with his magic alone. But be can't reverse magic enchantments yet, and he's not completely confident in his healing spells yet. He tried healing a bird's broken wing once. On the first try nothing happened, but the second time… well, his previous _owner_ eventually turned it back into a bird.

It's not so much that Merlin is afraid of how the other humans in the castle would react to Sir Ewan either being healed magically or turning into a toad; more so, he's afraid that the ill knight won't make it out of this. This is an enigma to him. Not the whole "how Valiant got a magic shield" part, he means the part where he is so protective of this man before him. He's supposed to hate these types of men!

"I'll get started preparing the antidote," he hears Gaius announce.

Merlin takes one last long look at the knight before him, taking in the scent of the fever that now has a stronger smell than the man's own chopped wood and bakery scent – a homely smell. The small man is constantly turning his head to and fro, as if stricken by a horrible nightmare. His sweat makes his face glisten like a new sword and soaks his shirt. After a few seconds, he turns around to face the old physician who is turning the pages of a few of his books like a mad man. He walks over to the table that he occupies. It is just the right height to grab the snake head in his head.

"I'll go tell Arthur," he says.

He walks to the door and uses a spell to open it.

"And Merlin," Gaius calls, causing Merlin to turn his head back into the room. "What you did was very brave."

Merlin can't help the slight wag in his tail and the sheepish flattening of his ears. He can't help it, he's a sucker for praise. He turns and slips out the door, closing it behind himself.

Arthur stares down at the most horrendous example of a snake he's seen. The cut is clean, meaning it was cut off by a sword. He looks at Merlin who is looking at him expectantly. Either waiting for praise or a bout of joy from the prince for finally having evidence. He looks at the head on his table again, then back up at the wolf.

"You?" he quirks an eyebrow at Merlin. "You chopped its head off?"

Merlin simply nods. Arthur looks down at the snake head again.

"Did you hold the sword in your mouth, or something?" Arthur asks, turning to face the dire wolf once again, skepticism clear on his face.

Merlin takes a moment before he nods again.

"An or something huh," he sighs.

Arthur really doesn't want to believe any of this. A snake that comes out of a shield – and there are two more snakes on that shield – A knight falling victim to a harsh fever due to a magical snake bite, another knight supposedly cheating in the tournament _using magic_ , the strangest snake head he's ever seen is on his table, having been chopped off with a sword, by a _dire wolf(!)_ and said dire wolf being the smartest damn animal he's ever come across – maybe as smart as a human, he dare entertain. He looks to the servant – the witness of the attack in the armory – in the corner of the room for… something, anything to ease the headache that this all is causing. But the serving boy seems to find something very intriguing about the floor.

Arthur sighs. He'll have to work with what he's got and debate the whole smart wolf thing later on.

"Sir Ewan was bitten by a snake and based off of the evidence that you brought me," he nods to Merlin. "and your witness statement," he nods to the serving boy. "The snake is a magical … _thing_ , that was hidden in Sir Valiant's shield."

Merlin nods again, probably thinking that Arthur was looking for confirmation on the whole subject.

"Valiant wouldn't dare use magic in Camelot," the prince states.

"Well," the servant finally says, drawing Arthur's attention who sees that the boy is still looking down as he speaks. "Sir Ewan was pinned under Valiant's shield. No one could see the snake bite him."

"I don't like the guy, but…" Arthur turns to face the giant dire wolf to his left. "That doesn't mean he's cheating. It's a big risk to accuse him so suddenly, just before the final fight."

The wolf's expression hardens, but not much – if he remembers his tutoring sessions from Gaius, because Gaius was a better teacher than the tutors his father hired, wolves can't physically show as many cues of emotions on their face. Merlin looks determined though. For whatever reason, Arthur can understand him. But maybe it's his own ego shining through. Which of course, makes Arthur anxious all over again because his ego is in the front lines of this. His ego was being damaged from the beginning because Valiant was doing well and now his ego is in the danger of being crushed if his evidence doesn't prove Valiant's guilt – which is just the sad truth for anyone on the front lines of an attack. But if Valiant wins, then he's winning as a cheater. And to add to that, there's a mighty fine chance that Valiant will kill him. Arthur isn't really afraid of death, per say, it's what could happen after his death. His father would surely be upset, but he would grant Valiant a lighter punishment, thinking it a brave and honorable death in a tournament. And Valiant would still live high and mighty after that. Morgana seems infatuated with the slippery snake, and he seems to feel equally. He could very well marry her and get even more than the lousy 1,000 gold pieces – only Arthur can say 1,000 gold pieces is barely anything, because he doesn't know the hardships of the common folk and the economic struggles a king faces. There is so much at stake if he does this, but there is also so much at stake if he doesn't.

Arthur sighs and turns to the servant.

"I want you to swear to me that everything I've heard and seen here is true."

The serving boy doesn't hesitate.

"I swear it's true."

Arthur pushes off the table, grabs the snake head and faces Merlin once more, this time, his whole body facing the dire wolf.

"Then let's do this."

They have him. They have him in their jaws – and Merlin literally has the snake head in his jaw – or… what is the phrase the humans use?... claws? No that can't be right, humans don't have claws, except maybe the noble females. What was it? Clutches?... it'll do for now.

"Why have you summoned the court?" Uther asks upon his entry.

He does not look pleased. That's a judgmental father stare if Merlin's ever seen one – and he's seen a lot with how often the children of the village get hurt from their "quests". Arthur straightens his posture and approaches his father. There is a small whiff of hesitance on the prince, but he stands tall and confident non the less.

"I believe," Arthur announces. "Knight Valiant is using a magic shield to cheat in the tournament."

Arthur looks his father in the eye as he says it. Merlin thinks he sees a muscle in the prince's neck tense, Arthur probably wants to gloat straight at Valiant's face but is restraining himself to look proper and serious. Everyone in the room gasps and starts to murmur quietly amongst themselves. Valiant is obviously trying to school his expression, but Merlin can still smell the fear of being caught, even if he's on the other side of the room. Arthur sure is lucky he doesn't have a tail of his own, because Merlin knows that it's hard to keep your tail from wagging when you want to seem serious. "The tail tells all"; that's what the other wolves always say.

The king takes a second to process the information. And Merlin can smell the disappointment and… rage?

" _Don't tell me…"_

"Valiant," Uther turns to face the knight. "What do you have to say to this?"

"… _He's taking Valiant's word over his own son's."_

Even with all the evidence they have piled up and the promise of Ewan's witness statement, Merlin is starting to have doubts.

" _If there's one thing a human man will take with him to his grave, it is his stubbornness; even if he knows he's in the wrong."_

Another line of wisdom from the leader pack. If Uther chooses Valiant over his son, Valiant wins. But… Uther does hate magic. God this is backwards, he's supposed to try proving that magic can be used for good, not point out all the times it's being used for bad.

" _Stupid Valiant."_

The knight in question takes a few steps forward when the King calls for him. He seems to know that he has the kings side as Merlin senses a burst in confidence in him.

"My Lord," Valiant politely addresses the king. "This is ridiculous."

" _You're ridiculous,"_ Merlin is glad he didn't actually say that out loud.

"I've never used magic. Does your son have any evidence to support this outrageous accusation?"

" _Great! Now he's using the play of words to defend his case,"_ Merlin wants to put his paw over his head for how stupid all this is turning out. " _Valiant isn't_ _ **using**_ _magic. He just has an enchanted shield! So he's not even lying. Why are the smartest humans almost always bad?!"_

Uther turns to face Arthur. His expression just reads "you better have something!" But instead he just asks a curt and formal way of saying the same thing.

"Do you have evidence?"

Arthur turns to face Merlin and the serving boy and nods towards them. The boy remains where he is – not being needed yet, and possibly not at all if Sir Ewan arrives soon – while Merlin walks forward. He feels the twitch in his tail and manages to mask it as a sway when he walks. He walks up the few steps, but his hind paws remain at the bottom as there is not enough room at the top; it being taken up by three adult men and an oversized and unnecessary chair. He tilts his snout up towards the king, presenting the physical evidence. Uther reaches out and takes it into his own gloved hands. Merlin is more than happy to get it out of his mouth. It smells bad, tastes bad and his jaw is slightly sore from staying open for so long – it wasn't that long, he's just being a bit dramatic.

Uther looks over it once, twice, three times… a fourth time. He knows it's not a snake of Camelot, it's written all over his face. But there is still doubt and suspicion. He holds out the snake head for a servant to take – the serving boy that is acting as their first witness.

" _Where are Gaius and Sir Ewan?"_

"Let me see this shield," Uther turns to Valiant.

The knight steps forward confidently, presenting the shield before him. Merlin can't help the instinctive growl that escapes him. It's quiet and his teeth aren't bared… yet. Valiant hesitates a moment, pausing in his steps to make eye contact with Merlin. When Uther sends a glare at Merlin, Arthur puts a hand on the top of his head. Merlin continues to growl, just more quietly. To show submission – to the humans at least – he sits down behind Arthur at the bottom of the stairs. He does poke his head around the other side of Arthur's body to keep an eye on the snakes; all three of them.

"Be careful, My Lord," Arthur says, drawing his sword.

" _Why is Arthur calling his own father 'My Lord'?"_

Behind them Merlin hears a quiet shuffle of feet soon followed by a door silently opening and closing. Merlin recognizes those footsteps anywhere. He turns to see Gaius approaching the front of the small crowd. His relief is short lived. Where is Ewan?

Merlin lifts a paw and pats Arthur's leg. He hears the tap of his shoes and the ruffle of his coat as he turns around. Merlin knows when Arthur spots Gaius because the old physician nods at the person behind the dire wolf, and there is no way that Valiant is the one behind him.

"We need Ewan. Find out what's happening," Arthur whispers, knowing that he doesn't need to bend down for the dire wolf to hear him.

Merlin doesn't even nod in the affirmative, he was already planning to go talk to Gaius. Well… not talk. It doesn't take many steps to reach the old man. Looking over him more clearly, Merlin sees that Gaius has a folded piece of cloth in his grasp.

"As you can see, My Lord," Merlin hears behind him. "It's just an ordinary shield."

"He's not going to let everyone see the snakes come alive," Arthur immediately retorts.

Gaius opens the cloth for Merlin to see as well as some of the court members near them that are curious about what the two of them are doing.

Merlin's heart sinks.

He hears a noble man near him quietly gasp. He knows what it means.

"Then how am I to know what you say is true?" Uther's voice bounces off the walls.

"I have a witness," Arthur states confidently.

The courtroom members near Merlin and Gaius start quietly conversing with the physician looking for confirmation. Asking if Gaius is making a joke; Or simply making it more dramatic than it needs to be.

Gaius doesn't joke about this kind of stuff.

Gaius doesn't make these kinds of things out to be overly dramatic.

"Knight Ewan was bitten by one of the snakes from the shield. Its venom made him grievously ill. However, he has received an antidote. He will confirm that Knight Valiant is using magic."

"Where is this witness?"

Merlin knows that the king isn't talking to him, but it feels like he was just kicked in the chest, and the person kicking him has steel spiked boots. But Merlin can't tell what it is that is hurting him; the lack of a key witness to protect Camelot, and Arthur's ego and life… or the fact that a man is dead.

A man that had no part in this.

A man who was on the road to recovery.

"He should be here…"

Merlin doesn't need to turn around to know that Arthur is looking at Gaius and him.

"I'm waiting!" Uther booms, causing many of the humans around them to flinch.

"Sire," Gaius speaks up, walking towards the king with the open cloth held in front of him.

"What is this?"

Merlin finally looks at Arthur, and the worry mixed with confusion that he sees on the prince's face only adds more pain to the black dire wolf's metaphorical open wound.

"I am sad to announce that Ewan…" Gaius says to everyone in the room, as Uther picks up the item in the cloth and holds it out in front of himself.

It's a metal necklace.

With Knight Ewan's family crest carved out of what must have once been a coin.

"Is dead," Gaius finishes with a sad sigh.

Uther stares at the piece in his hand for a while longer. As does Arthur, and Merlin can see that Arthur knows.

Knows that their chances of winning are almost nonexistent now.

They look like fools.

Uther gently folds the necklace.

"I'll need to write a letter to his family. Have horses and a carriage prepared to return his body," he places the necklace back on the cloth and Gaius steps down the stairs, but stays near.

Uther turns back to face his son. Merlin is disappointed that he doesn't see as much remorse on the king's face as he was hoping for.

"So you have no proof to support these allegations. Have you seen Valiant using magic?"

"N-no. But my servant and Merlin…" Arthur is losing his confidence.

"Your servant?!" Uther bellows. "You made these outrageous accusations against a knight on the word of your servant?!"

"But Merlin! You wanted him to watch out for this kind of stuff!"

Merlin doesn't remember moving back over to Arthur's side, but he finds his neck pushing into the young man's side.

"My Lord," Valiant calls attention to himself once more. "Am I really to be judged by some hearsay from a boy and a dog?"

" _That's it."_

Merlin steps down the steps and around Arthur. He bears his pearly teeth and the fur on his hind stands up. Valiant steps back.

"Enough!"

Merlin flinches at that. Uther's burst may have damaged his hearing. Why do humans always insist on yelling?

"My Lord," Merlin is getting tired of hearing Valiant's stupid voice. "If your son made these accusations because he's afraid to fight me, then I will graciously accept his withdrawal."

" _What?"_

Uther turns to his son with a tired and furious look on his face. Where Arthur's hand is resting on his head, Merlin can feel the cold sweat and twitch in his fingers when his father looks him dead in the eye. Arthur knows they lost.

"Is this true? Do you wish to withdraw from the tournament?"

"No!"

No matter how true his words are, Valiant has already won.

"Then what am I to make of these allegations?"

Arthur hesitates. If he wasn't such a macho man then Merlin thinks he would be crying right now. At least one tear would be shed by the prince. But Arthur would never let anyone see him cry. Merlin doesn't know the prince that well, but he's still like the other males of his species. And the males of the human species see crying as a sign of weakness, even when it is more right to cry than to stand stone faced.

"Obviously," Arthur's voice is slightly strained, but Merlin doubts that any of the other humans notice. "There has been a misunderstanding."

Arthur looks up to make eye contact with Valiant. While the slippery snake wears a mask of stoicism and false innocence, Merlin can see, can _smell_ the boost to his ego; how giddy he feels for having won, not only the case, but the king's preference.

"I withdraw the allegation against Knight Valiant. Please accept my apology."

Valiant takes only a second, radiating more venomous sunshine from the victory.

"Accepted."

Valiant is lucky he doesn't have a tail, because Merlin knows that if he did, he wouldn't be able to keep his tail from wagging until it fell off.

"Out!"

Arthur knows he's being harsh on the servant. They've only just entered his chambers and he's already ordering the serving boy to leave.

"S-sire…" the boy tries to find his voice.

"No! I believed this, all of this! And now you've made me look like a complete fool."

Arthur throws his hands up and runs them through his hair, pulling out a few strands.

"My father and the entire royal court think I'm a coward! YOU HUMILIATED ME!"

Arthur looks slightly down to the right of the quivering serving boy where Merlin stands. He looks defeated, like someone took his damn favorite bone.

"And you did too!"

Merlin meets his eyes, a look of absolute surprise. Arthur turns away and almost immediately turns back when he doesn't hear the servant moving or the door opening.

"I said out! I no longer require your services."

The serving boy looks like he wants to say something, but he just shakily bows and turns to exit the prince's chambers, leaving the door open for Merlin. As the servant's hasty footsteps fade away, Arthur looks at the dire wolf again. The beast looks… saddened and disappointed. When those azure eyes meet his, Arthur can see that Merlin is both disappointed in himself and in Arthur.

"Go. And don't bother showing up at the arena tomorrow if you can't even do what my father wanted you to do properly."

Merlin looks hurt by that, but Arthur can't bring himself to care. Everything went wrong today and he's been humiliated in front of everyone and lost his father's trust in him… again. If he wants to prove himself as a warrior and as a future king, then he can't let the people around him drag him down.

The wolf looks down, as if contemplating. Before Arthur can say anything more, the black dire wolf bows his head and raises one paw. He removes the red scarf around his neck almost effortlessly. Merlin gives one last glance at the prince, and Arthur can see what he can only describe as angry disappointment directed at him.

Then he is gone, using his hind leg to shut the door behind himself.

And now Arthur is alone. He sighs and slumps down in a bulky chair covered in animal skins near the fire. He leans his head back and is not satisfied by the cushioning the furs provide, wanting to feel the pain the wood underneath would provide. He sighs again and closes his eyes. The only thing he can think of at the moment, is the stupid red scarf on the floor and how all the more upset it makes him feel.

Merlin trots into the dark cave, the fur on his hind standing up. The echoing drip of the water in the stone cavern does not bother him, he is too frustrated to be annoyed by something so trivial.

"Where are you?" his voice echoes off the stone. "Whatever you think my destiny, whatever it is you think I'm supposed to do, you've got the wrong dire wolf."

He can hear the slightest jingle of chains from above. Kilgharrah can hear him. It's quiet for a moment – quiet meaning that neither the dragon nor the dire wolf speak. Merlin sighs. Everything hurts.

"That's it. I'm done with all this. Goodbye."

Merlin turns to leave, he's going to leave for good. Why bother with a mission to save magic when he's not even aloud to talk to people. Not to mention he's one of the animals that humans love to kill for game. As he starts walking back through the cave entrance, A deep chuckle bounces off the walls all around him and the chains that are holding the dragon to this dark prison jingle loudly. Kilgharrah lowers himself to the odd junction before the landing that Merlin stands on. The dire wolf turns to face the dragon, wearing an unimpressed expression.

"If only it were so easy to escape one's destiny."

"How can it be my destiny to protect someone who hates me? W-who can't even understand me?"

Kilgharrah gives a knowing smirk. Merlin likes making others happy, but only when happiness was what he was intending, not his own flustered and angry self amusing them.

"A half cannot truly hate that which makes it whole," he flaps his wings some. "Very soon you will learn that."

Merlin flattens his ears some, not necessarily in anger, more in mild annoyance.

"Are you cursed to speak only in riddles or something?"

Kilgharrah lets out a deep, joyous laugh at that. Oh, this must be so amusing to him. The dragon spreads his wings, raising his body. He's getting ready to leave, but Merlin isn't satisfied with the results of their conversation.

"You know, young warlock, this is not the end. It is the beginning."

He flies off. Merlin all but howls in frustration.

"Just give me a straight answer!"

Gwen hadn't been there when Arthur had made the allegations, but if there is one thing that noble ladies like to do, it's gossip. And talk about pretty things. According to the ladies, Merlin has a beautiful sleek black fur. Gwen won't argue with that, but Gwen prefers it on Merlin. She trusts the ladies, but she's seen what they wear for their parties. From what she's heard so far, Merlin was sacked from his position of the prince's guard "dog" and kicked out of the arena for tomorrow's portion of the tournament, the finale. So she wasn't all that surprised to find the giant dire wolf moping at the bottom of the stairs to the palace entrance. Sad animals were always a weakness for her.

"Hello Merlin," she says quietly as she approaches him.

Merlin simply makes a wolfish grunt in greeting. She sits down next to him and runs her fingers through his fur, noticing the lack of a red scarf. The natural oil in his fur is a little gross and not the nicest feeling on her hand, but petting an animal is just a go to motion for her. Besides, Merlin looks like he could use a good scratching, especially behind the ear. A small smile appears on Gwen's face when Merlin tilts his head into her hand. He still looks sad, but at least the attention seems to feel good.

"Is it true," she whispers, so that the people walking around them can't hear her. "That Valiant is using magic?"

Merlin bobs his head. At first, Gwen thinks it's from the scratching behind the ear, but when he doesn't repeat the motion she realizes it was his response. She feels a little stupid for expecting him to respond verbally, but there are people around and they don't know he can talk, and shouldn't know.

"Is there anything you can do?"

Merlin finally meets her eyes. He lets out a small whine and bows his head some.

"Well something has to be done," Gwen looks around after realizing that she spoke a little too loud. "I know you didn't just assume he was using magic. Now that he's gotten away with it, he's going to kill prince Arthur!"

"I know," Gwen almost misses it, he talks so quietly and his mouth doesn't move which throws her off.

She sighs, noticing that her hand has stopped scratching behind his ear, so she resumes the motions. Merlin stays sitting but moves his large head to rest it on Gwen's raised knees. She's had dogs rest their heads on her lap before, but never a wolf. Especially not a wolf as big as Merlin. He's at least being generous by not resting all of his weight – in just his head – on top of her.

"What are you going to do?"

It's quiet, except for the clip-clop of the horses as they pull carts to and fro. Then, his head lifts up slightly and his ears perk.

"That's it."

He stands up and walks around Gwen, abandoning her ear scratching to approach a… dog statue? He sniffs it and circles it some. When his little inspection is done he stands before it and wags his tail.

"What… are you going to do with that?"

Gwen is not well versed in magic, so maybe she doesn't see the same opportunity as the black dire wolf; but she doesn't see what a dog statue can do, or even a living dog. Merlin turns to look at her expectantly.

"Do you have a wheelbarrow?" he asks when no one is around.

Gaius has seen many things, weird and extraordinary. He's seen Merlin pull carts of medicine and blankets around for his late friend and fellow physician. But he was not expecting to see the dire wolf pull a dog statue in a wheel barrow through his chambers and workshop. Gaius has many questions, like who helped him load the wheelbarrow, and tied it to Merlin for him to pull? Merlin surely didn't use magic for this, did he?

"What are you doing with that?"

Merlin keeps walking towards his room and with his dire wolf strength, pulls it up the few steps.

"I'm going to let everyone see the snakes for themselves."

With that he pulls the wheelbarrow into his room, uses magic to untie the makeshift yoke and closes the door with his snout. To top it off, he locks the door – using magic.

Gaius doesn't see him at all after that, the wolf missing supper for once.

Merlin is up to something.

Gaius is worried.

Merlin hates it when he can't get a spell right, it's a blow to whatever ego he has. He'd been repeating the same spell so many times that he's pretty sure he was saying it in his sleep. He was surprised upon waking to this sight. A living dog where the statue was set down, said statue missing.

"I did it!" Merlin bolts to his feet in ecstasy.

The dog growled and was about to lunge at him – damn guard dogs, where is their sense of self-preservation? – when Merlin released his own growl. The dog immediately fell into a submissive position. After finding certainty that the dog would stay in the room, he turned around and unlocked the door. Gaius was there, as if he was about to open the door himself.

"Arthur's fighting Valiant!"

"I know. I also know how to reveal the snakes," he closes the door and maneuvers around the physician towards the main door before he pauses to face Gaius. "Oh, whatever you do, don't go into my room… We'll deal with it later."

Merlin nudges the door open. Behind him in the physician's chambers, Merlin hears the rusty turning of the latch on his door followed by a bark.

He's going to be in trouble when this is all over.

Arthur wouldn't say he's afraid, because he's not. He can do this. He just has to avoid being bitten when Valiant unleashes the snakes.

He and Valiant dance around each other in the arena. It feels weird, or perhaps blood pumping is a better way to phrase it. With a few swings of his blade, he knocks Valiant's helmet to the ground. He pauses, as does Valiant. Seeing that the man is not advancing on him, Arthur takes the moment to straighten his posture and remove his helmet. He's been made a fool, seeming to be a coward before his father and the royal court. Removing his helmet won't do much to strengthen his ego, but it is something. The crowd cheers as he falls back into a fighting position.

It's only for a second.

But he sees him enter through the shadows.

A black beast of great stature with azure eyes.

 _Merlin._

The tiny distraction doesn't do him well. Valiant gains the upper hand. Arthur hears a horrible crunch as his back hits the ground, luckily finding that his spine was not the source of the sound. Valiant steps on Arthur's shield and disarms him. It's by luck and skill that he frees himself and finds his feet, only to be forced into the wall.

Right next to where Merlin is hiding.

Where the wolf is, only Valiant and Arthur can really see him.

Arthur manages to shove Valiant off of him, ducks, and backs up. He stands tall and proud, hold his sweaty fists up. It's his fists versus a sword, not to mention that Valiant has a shield.

And it's as if thinking of the shield does it.

Two loud venomous hisses erupt from the shield, and two large, definitely magical snakes emerge from the shield. Arthur takes a few more steps backwards to get away from the snakes as they extend further out of the shield. Valiant looks absolutely terrified, even though Arthur is the one in the striking range of the snakes.

"What are doing," Valiant whisper yells at the snakes, but they only continue to stare Arthur down. "I didn't summon you."

Arthur thinks he hears his father's voice in the stands amongst the gasps of the crowd, thinks he hears him confirm that Valiant is indeed using magic. Arthur dares a look up at Valiant and away from the snakes. He sees the man nervously chuckle. He tilts the shield down and the snakes slither down onto the ground slowly approaching the prince. Out of the corner of his eye, Arthur sees another beast approaching from the shadows.

"Kill him!"

Arthur jumps back at the command, and it was a smart idea as the snakes lunged forward at him. He turns slightly, putting his back towards the stands. If he can do this right, he can jump the wall. On the downside to that, the snakes might be able to ascend the wall as well; they are pretty big after all.

"Arthur!" calls a familiar female voice from behind him.

It's a risky move, but he turns to face the voice and he sees Morgana throwing him a sword. He grabs it out of the air and swings it – he won't admit that it was a blind and rushed move – and cuts off the heads of the two snakes.

It's when he turns around that he feels the cold sweat. He had known that Merlin was there, and that the dire wolf had entered the arena grounds, but he is still surprised to see him circling Valiant in a crouched posture. Valiant is in a defensive pose watching the black beast closely, occasionally looking over his shoulder at Arthur.

Merlin lunges forward, baring his teeth; and releases a deep predatory sound. When Valiant jumps back, Arthur takes the chance to charge forward as well.

Valiant sees it all. He swings at Merlin's extended leg, forcing him back. When the Dire wolf is clear, he pivots and blocks Arthur's attack with his shield before making an upward rotation of his blade at Arthur. The prince blocks it with his own sword and backs up.

And Merlin charges again. Valiant spins and swings, almost blindly, close to Merlin's neck, only to miss when the dire wolf pushes himself to stand on his hind legs.

That's when both Arthur and Valiant freeze.

Arthur had noticed that Merlin is smaller than most dire wolves, but he is still a dire wolf and is therefore a large beast.

But when he stands on his hind legs…

Merlin's body blocks out the sun and his shadow dwarfs Valiant, and almost Arthur at that.

Valiant barely dodges the wolf when he comes down, jaw open and claws looking like those of a lion's where the light hits them. But his move is of equal comparison to a newborn foal as he backs away.

That's when Arthur strikes.

Valiant turns, barely parries Arthur's attack and in the next moment, he is run through. As Valiant groans and gasps, Arthur feels a sudden boost to his ego; he has saved Camelot and proven himself to not be a fool.

"It looks like I'll be going to the feast after all," he can't help but gloat into the dying man's ear.

Arthur extracts the blade and lets Valiant's body fall to the ground. It is quiet for a moment before the crowd erupts in cheering. He looks to his father and sees a proud smile tugging at the older man's lips.

Another boost to his ego.

Seeing that all is done and well, the prince turns to leave the arena – he has a feast to prepare for after all – and he sees him. Merlin. Just standing there. He walks up to him and gives him a little pat on the head, only to walk past him. When he gets to the corner, he turns to see that Merlin is still standing there, looking between the king and the dead man at his paws. When the dire wolf looks over his shoulder at Arthur, as if feeling his eyes on him, Arthur can't help the grin that takes over his face.

"You coming?"

It's weird to see a beast's facial features light up in happiness, but Merlin is a weird beast. He trots up to the prince and walks by his side as they head towards the prince's chambers. There is something that belongs to Merlin in there after all.

As Merlin walks through the corridors, he has to make sure that he doesn't speed ahead in excitement. He knows that Arthur is going to his chambers to prepare for the feast, and he knows where said chambers are. So in good reason, it would be fine if Merlin gets there first and waits for Arthur. But then he would actually have to _wait_ and he's far to giddy to be able to stand still.

This is the first time that Merlin has left a battle arena feeling happy. Which is really weird. It's not that Merlin is happy that Valiant is dead, death is not something Merlin celebrates – he celebrates life and the sacrifice his prey makes to feed him. But of course, Valiant was a bad man and was going to kill Arthur, and he didn't, which is good. It's also good that now the king and the royal court don't think Arthur is a lying coward anymore. And then there was the pat on his head. It's technically praise – and Merlin is a sucker for praise – and it means that Arthur doesn't really hate him anymore.

"Slow down," Arthur commands, but there is a chuckle hidden in it.

Arthur is just too slow. It seems to take them forever to get to his chambers. This is the first time that Merlin was so excited to enter the prince's room, because when he usually goes in there, it's absolutely boring. But it must be something good because Arthur seems excited too; and Arthur hates boring stuff.

It takes a while, but they eventually get there, and Merlin has to restrain himself from openly using magic to open the door as opposed to what really happens, which is Arthur unlocking it with his key – using two wrong ones, and really, he should borrow some paint or something to make it easier to tell the keys apart. Once inside, Merlin takes a second to decide where he should go, but Arthur calls him over to the fire place. When he is standing next to him, Merlin sits down, looking up at Arthur expectantly. He grabs something off of the mantle and when it is in sight, Merlin sees that it is his scarf. Arthur turns to him.

"So it turns out you were right about the shield," Arthur says avoiding eye contact.

Merlin nods, giving up on trying to keep his tail from wagging.

"And I may have… had a bad reaction to my humiliation."

Merlin nods.

"And I was a bit," Arthur pauses, looking as if he's trying really hard to apologize, but not being able to find the words. "Well, I got your scarf cleaned. A maid did it… obviously. It is dangerous for you to be walking around without it when we have so many guests over."

Merlin gives Arthur an unimpressed look. He was so close, but his oversized ego – recently inflated – has gotten in the way… again.

"It would be difficult for you to do your guarding job if people thought you were invading the castle," Now he's just looking for anything else to say. "Even though, everyone knows about you at this point."

Merlin huffs. So much for a non-boring visit to the prince's chambers. Arthur pats the cloth in his hands a few times before holding it out to Merlin.

"If you wish, you can become my guard," he makes a weird hand gesture as he tries to think of the right thing to say. "… Dire wolf… Again."

The dire wolf lifts his snout, baring his neck to the prince. Arthur takes the signal and moves forward to tie the scarf around Merlin's neck. Luckily, he doesn't have to bend down – as Merlin is almost at eye level – but Merlin does have to turn his face away a bit to give Arthur better access.

The prince still smells of sweat and a bit of blood – Valiant's blood – and it makes Merlin feel slightly uncomfortable. Having the scarf tied around his neck is almost like being collared. There are the obvious differences like how the scarf is a soft cloth and a collar is a hard, cold metal. Where the scarf is easy to remove, a collar is usually very tight and constrictive. Both however, give off a sense of belonging, of ownership. But when Arthur steps away and claps his hands together, murmuring something about getting ready while he walks towards his wardrobe and curtain, Merlin doesn't feel that ownership. The scarf, as strange as it seems, gives him a sense of freedom.

Merlin feels… something, in his heart. And he likes it. Because he knows that it means he's happy, and he definitely is happy.

"A servant will come up to help me prepare," Arthur announces as he casually throws his shirt over the back of a chair. "And three maids will come up so that they can give you a bath. You smell awful."

The feeling of happiness suddenly disappears.


	11. Chapter 11

Merlin had woken up to an uneasy feeling this morning. The sensation he feels could be likened to that of a cold knife being slowly traced down his back with enough pressure to almost break skin. His legs had felt stiff and there was and still is a strange bitter taste in his mouth that made him avoid water for a while beyond his knowledge of why. At first, Merlin brushed it off as sleeping in an awkward position on a cold stiff wooden floor last night, but he knew that that wasn't a good excuse. He's a dire wolf for crying out loud; he's slept on the forest floor in the dead of winter, and that hadn't bothered at all, no matter what position he slept in.

It's obvious what's going on.

There is powerful magic being used nearby.

And Merlin means _powerful._ Which means a _powerful_ magic user.

When he went out for his morning pee break, he couldn't track it which scared him because the magic has a dark undertone to it and if he can't find it, people could get hurt. It was when a concerned citizen came banging on Gaius's door to announce that a man had collapsed in the market place that Merlin began to fear the worst. He was also a bit angry at the "generous citizen" when he and Gaius found that he hadn't bothered to move the body to a comfier place, instead leaving him in the dirt of the market place. The body, because the poor soul had died before they got to him, reeks of magic. Gaius slowly circles the body to inspect it, looking for any signs of poison or dangerous tools that he doesn't want to accidentally touch. Merlin also circles the body, but from a little farther away, because there is something to this magic that is sickening to _him_.

Gaius finally kneels next to the body and Merlin instinctually moves closer, should some unforeseen attack launch itself at the court physician. Merlin can't keep the whimper from escaping his throat, but Gaius has known Merlin long enough to be able to translate certain sounds and actions that Merlin does.

"What's for me to be afraid of, Merlin?" Gaius asks as he smooths some cloth over his palms to be able to turn the body over.

Merlin, as best as he can, makes a face of annoyance and concern, another strange whine falling from his mouth. He looks about as he does so and the motion his muzzle makes as he whines almost looks like a yawn. Gaius only scoffs and looks Merlin dead in the eye with seriousness written all over his face. He can't be bothered by the fact that he's talking to a dire wolf as if Merlin can speak when they are in a public place because there is hardly anyone around to take notice. Merlin is only being overly cautious to not speak like he actually can.

"Merlin," the dire wolf halts his nervous movements to give Gaius his full attention. "I'm the court physician. This is part of my job."

Gaius turns back to the body and continues to wrap his hands.

"With most of the cases I see, there isn't really anything to be scared of…"

Gaius flips the body over at that moment, his voice falling quiet at what he sees.

"You were saying," Merlin says quietly, the shock of what he sees causing him to forget to not speak like a human.

Gaius only stares at the frost white skin and pale eyes of the body. He seems to trace the blue veins that surround the face of the unfortunate man with his eyes. After maybe a minute, Gaius snaps out of his trance and quickly stands up.

"People can't see this. They'll panic."

Merlin just stands there, staring at the body as Gaius finds a tarp nearby on top of a cart. The dire wolf can hear the faint mumbled comment that Gaius makes about how this – the tarp and the cart – would work perfectly. Merlin doesn't know what to do. There is magic being used in the city for evil and he can't trace it. Which can mean only one thing, a material or bodied enchantment.

Merlin can only track the magic of the magic user, following the trace of the spell and even being able to tell what kind of spell it is. But a material or bodied enchantment is different. There is still the hint of the users own magic, but the tools and materials used in the enchantment can overpower the enchantment itself, becoming the ultimate defense against dire wolves that may be tracking sorcerers. All dire wolves can smell magic, Merlin just knows how to use and command magic as well.

He snaps out of his own trance when he notices that Gaius has attached the cart to him. He looks behind himself to see that Gaius has managed to lift the body onto the low cart and has thrown the tarp over it to conceal it. With everything done, Gaius starts the journey back to the castle, and merlin has no option but to follow.

The trip back is… well, Merlin feels slightly uncomfortable. With the ice stabbing sensation of the enchantment following him, as well as the knowledge that there is a deadly enchantment in the city, and the fact that he is bringing an example of the damage it does into the castle just makes him want to turn tail and run. There's also the fact that if Uther finds out about the enchantment, he'll expect Merlin to track it down, and Gaius isn't supposed to – as far as anyone else knows – know the extent of Merlin's magic tracking abilities. Their best hope is that there is an old text somewhere that Gaius can pretend that he's read – although he may actually end up reading it – that explains how all dire wolves can track magic and to what extent and the fact that dire wolves can't track material or bodied enchantments back to sorcerers. But even that is risky because of, well, you know, Uther's view on magic. Even if the text says that Merlin can track magic, the existence of such a text in old lore would say that all dire wolves are a form of magic. And as much as Uther may appreciate Merlin's magic tracking skills, so long as Merlin is magic, Uther will see to it that he is executed or whatever. Because Uther _hates_ magic.

As soon as Merlin steps through the gate, his nose twitches at a familiar scent. His head naturally turns to face it and lo and behold, Gwen is walking towards them with a little bounce in her step and some purple flowers in her hands. She notices the cart and a look of curiosity crosses her face. Merlin wishes the cart would suddenly disappear if only to escape having to tell her what it is.

"What are you two doing?"

Gaius finally seems to notice her, and if he were the one pulling the cart, he probably would have dropped it out of surprise.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to startle you," she says, removing one of her hands to gently grip Gaius's sleeves in apology.

"It is quite alright my dear," he says with a nervous chuckle.

"So, what is all this?" she asks again.

She retracts her hand and once again looks towards the cart. Merlin realizes that he should have taken advantage of the short distraction to move the cart to Gaius's quarters, that way, with her curiosity, she wouldn't lift up the tarp to look. She takes a step closer to the cart and Merlin tries to back up, but the Cart itself won't move so Merlin can't move. Luckily, Gaius stands in front of her and extends his arm out to block her. An excuse is already building itself on his tongue.

"Ah, it's nothing my dear. We're just moving some stuff."

Gwen looks quizzically down at Gaius's extended arm. Merlin is amazed by Gaius's quick lying ability.

"Some of the things here are some old… and new remedies that I have worked on, as well as some ingredients that aren't the best to be around for too long."

"If that's so, shouldn't you and Merlin _not_ be moving them around?"

"Ah… well… you see, dire wolves' bodies work a bit differently than ours. So Merlin has a very natural immunity to any side effects that the ingredients might cause, which is why he's pulling the cart. Plus he can protect me and… others with his _other,_ very natural ability."

Gwen seems to take in his words for a moment before recognition takes over her face.

"Oh… oh!"

Gaius nods, then notices the flowers in her hand.

"Oh! Has someone given you flowers?"

Gwen looks down and giggles – she's a very giggly person, Merlin has noticed.

"No. I just picked these a while ago. I was thinking of arranging them for Lady Morgana."

"I know she'll love them," Gaius shakes his head in a loving manner and places a hand on Gwen's shoulder. "You are a very kind person Gwen. A true gift to everyone you meet."

Gwen blushes and shuffles her feet at the praise. Merlin can understand, it's weird getting praised and he usually doesn't know how to respond.

"Thank you, Gaius. You're a real treasure as well."

"Thank you," he chuckles and moves away, starting to walk back to his chambers.

Merlin starts to follow him, ready to untie this cart from his back, but Gwen stops him. The thought of Gwen lifting up the tarp once again crosses his mind and he gets ready to bolt. But then Gwen slips a single flower into his scarf under his chin. Merlin tries to look at it, but obviously, he can't. Gwen laughs at the sight and pats his head when he gives up trying to look at it.

"Purple suits you," she says with genuine kindness, then shock crossed with embarrassment replaces that smile. "Not that I'm saying red doesn't you, of course!"

Merlin nods without thinking about it, he's still being cautious of his surroundings.

"Well, I should probably go," she says, giving Merlin another head pat. "Bye."

Merlin gives a pleased short howl, but feels a little sheepish when some heads turn to look at him. Gwen just laughs as she walks away.

Gaius looks intensely at the body on the cloth covered bench. He stares at it for a long while. Merlin sits next to him, albeit, a little farther away from the body.

"I've never seen anything like this," he mumbles, more to himself than to Merlin.

Merlin already figured that, what with the way Gaius has stared at the body for over half an hour.

"I think it's an enchantment. I was feeling it all morning and seeing the body confirmed it."

Gaius turns to look Merlin in the eye with an expression that Merlin is very familiar with when he manages to annoy the old physician.

"You knew all morning and you didn't tell me?"

"I was in denial to begin with and thought I had just slept weird. It's a very powerful one for sure and it's even starting to make me feel sick."

"I think that's pretty obvious," Gaius says as he walks over to a cupboard near the door where he keeps a lot of enchantment remedy materials. "You didn't feel anything last night, did you?"

"No," Merlin can say that with confidence in his answer, because he would have remembered feeling this way, because nothing Arthur puts him through has this great of an effect on him.

"So it works quickly," Gaius mumbles and is about to say something else when there is heavy footfall followed by a loud booming voice on the other side of the door.

"Merlin!"

Gaius quickly opens the door a smidge before Arthur can have a look inside while Merlin, just in case Arthur does decide to push past him, throws the tarp over the body to hide it – somewhat. Good thing he thought to pull it over the body using his teeth instead of magic because the affect the enchantment is having on him would probably throw off his aim.

"Where's Merlin?" Arthur asks from the other side of the door.

"My apologies sire, but I was notified by a concerned citizen that there was case in the lower town that I needed to tend to and they suggested that I bring Merlin along to protect me. I would have notified you that I was borrowing him for the morning, but the citizen said that it was urgent and so I couldn't even have had the information passed on to you from a messenger."

"It's alright. You are forgiven," Arthur says.

Merlin decides to go to the door at that moment, so that if Arthur wants him to follow him somewhere, he won't travel further into the physician's quarters.

"Ah there you… are?"

It takes Merlin a moment to figure out what has the prince so confused, but then he notices where the prince's eyes are. Luckily, Gaius seems to notice as well.

"Oh, we ran into Gwen on the way back from the lower town. She had some flowers and stuck one in Merlin's scarf as a gift to him."

"Okay…"

Merlin figures that Arthur doesn't understand why someone would bother doing that for an animal.

"She's a very generous person," Gaius continues. "and I think she and Merlin have formed quite the bond. Merlin really seems to like her."

Arthur nods, then looks back up at Gaius.

"My father has expressed to me that he wants to see you, now," Arthur adds at the end, probably meaning that Uther is very impatient at the moment.

"I will be there as soon as I can."

"Good," he takes a few steps, but before Gaius can close the door, Arthur turns back around and looks at Merlin.

"It's probably best that Merlin comes as well."

"Of course, Sire."

With that, Arthur walks away, and Gaius completely closes the door.

"We need to cover up the body more effectively and leave some incense out, especially in your room."

"How will incense help dissipate the enchantment?"

"It won't, but an enchantment this powerful and this deadly will have a negative effect on you, and I don't want you falling down with a case of Foul Moon."

Merlin stops where he stands and let a full body shiver take over him. Foul Moon. It's something that people like Gaius call a bad reaction that only effects dire wolves and causes them to go crazy. They begin to hurt everywhere and can shut down by refusing to eat, drink, sleep and are prone to continuous pacing and can lose perception of reality as well as lose control of themselves. Powerful enchantments are the main cause of this, even though most enchantments can't affect dire wolves.

"Although I'll have to ask if you can stay with Arthur in his room."

Merlin is about to refuse, but Gaius seems to realize that and rounds on him.

"However you may think of Arthur and how dreadful the thought of staying in his room may be, I'm not keeping you in here when there are likely to be even more bodies to come in. The castle at the moment seems like the safest place right now and Arthur's chambers are by far the safest of them all."

Merlin doesn't say anything and Gaius goes back to collecting the incense. If Merlin did have to choose between sleeping in Arthur's chambers for a few nights and staying in an area soon to be filled with enchanted dead bodies, he would choose the prior option. It's just…

"Him… of all people?"

Gaius turns to look him dead in the eye again.

"We will not be arguing this any further."

Merlin seems to be cowering while he's in the council chambers, he was the same when he entered and had looked a little stiff back in Gaius's chambers. Sure, the council chambers are by far, Arthur's least favorite place to be, but Arthur is almost concerned about Merlin. Not that he would admit it, of course.

While Gaius had immediately rushed to the pale man on the floor, Merlin looked like he was trying to retreat, only for the guards to close the doors and conveniently trap him in the room he was trying to escape. Uther didn't seem to pay any mind to dire wolf, only staring intensely at the top of the court physician's head as if trying to see what he is thinking.

"What's happening to him?" the king asks, his tone daring Gaius to lie to him, but the old physician doesn't seem disturbed by the voice, never did seem to be.

"I don't know, Sire," he shakes his head in disappointment as he says so. "It's the second case I've seen today."

Uther sits up a bit more in his throne, anger slowly taking over his features, as it is usually the first emotion to do so.

"Why didn't you report it to me?"

"I was attempting to find the cause for the first one. I hoped to have an answer for you," Gaius finally stands and looks Uther in the eye, the only person who can really do so when Uther is angry.

"Do you know what the cause is?"

Gaius hesitates and looks back at Merlin, but does eventually turn back to Uther.

"I can't make a definite conclusion, but… I think it's safe to say that the most likely cause is sorcery."

Uther shifts his gaze to Merlin at the mention of sorcery. Arthur can tell, because the black dire wolf seems to curl in on himself a little.

"If it is sorcery, shouldn't Merlin be tracking down the culprit by now?"

"Well," Gaius clears his throat, and Arthur can't figure out why this explanation, of all the ones that Gaius has ever given, seems to be the hardest for him to give. "You see sire, I believe that this is a special type of enchantment."

A few eyebrows raise in question, waiting for an even further explanation. Arthur is one of them.

"I think it best to tell you now that I did some research into Merlin's ability to track and smell magic. I found that it is not an ability specific to Merlin but rather to all dire wolves."

Out of the corner of his eye, Arthur sees Merlin seem to silently freak out about Gaius talking about his ability. Maybe Arthur's head is coming up with excuses though.

"And in the past, dire wolves were used to track sorcerers who were using their magic for evil doing. Because of that, some of the dark sorcerers found a way to hide their magic, or rather… make sure dire wolves can't track them as effectively. To do so, they changed a lot of the materials and ingredients as well as spells that go into enchantments…"

"As much as I appreciate you sharing your knowledge on the subject, I would like a straight answer so that fewer people will suffer under this enchantment," Uther interrupts.

"I guess," Gaius sighs. "The best way to put it is that Merlin can still track magic, but that this enchantment that is doing this… it was one that was meant to keep a dire wolf such as Merlin from tracing it back to the sorcerer."

"So he's useless."

Arthur twitches at that. If his father thinks Merlin is useless, there's no telling what he'll do to him.

"Not entirely, no. He can still tell what the strongest points and areas of the enchantment are, such as the bodies and the source, he just can't trace it."

Uther sits for a moment, contemplating. After a few seconds he stand up from his throne and approaches Arthur, who automatically straightens his posture.

"Conduct door to door searches. Increase your presence in the town. Double the guards on all gates. And lend the physician Merlin."

"Merlin? But…"

"We need Gaius to find a cure. He needs all the help he can get and if Merlin can help even a little bit at finding the cause, it'll be while he's with Gaius. Furthermore…"

"Actually, Sire," Gaius interrupts, and Gaius really is the only one Arthur has seen getting away with interrupting his father, probably because everyone knows that Gaius would only interrupt if it was important.

Uther and Arthur turn to once again look at Gaius.

"I have a request regarding where Merlin will be staying during the hunt for the sorcerer."


	12. Chapter 12

Merlin has become familiar with the prince's chambers ever since he first arrived, but he's pretty sure he learned 5 new things about the prince – who isn't even here – in the last 12 hours of being trapped in said chambers – with pee breaks to outside. Gaius was right about the room being the safest place, the sickly feeling isn't as strong up here, but he's already showing signs of Foul Moon symptoms; mainly pacing. He can't help it. At least Arthur isn't here right now to see him acting this way, burning a path down into the floor; and the door to the hallway is open a smidge in case Merlin needs a pee break.

There had been hesitation from the royals with accepting Gaius's request to have Merlin stay with Arthur, mostly on Arthur's part, but Uther did accept, and no one could change his mind – no one wanted to dare themselves to do it, out of fear. Arthur had dragged his feet into his room, staring up at the ceiling as he opened the door like a child who didn't want to do chores. And for the record, Merlin was on the same page about all this. He doesn't want to get all comfy in Arthur's chambers just as much as Arthur doesn't want Merlin to get all comfy – and get dead fur everywhere – in his chambers. They can agree on that. But they don't have a choice.

They both went to sleep _somewhat_ easily. Merlin isn't used to sleeping in this room, especially not with Arthur no more than ten feet away on his bed. To say that the "setting up for bed routine" was awkward last night, would have been an understatement. Arthur's personal servant, Liam – who Merlin finally learned the name of, and was also rehired as Arthur's servant after the Valiant mishap – tried to cut the tense air a bit, checking in on both of them and giving Merlin his plate of meat far away from Arthur's dining table. But that didn't help when Merlin curled up in his little corner – where Liam provided him an old, but not gross, blanket to sleep on top of – and Arthur laid stiff on his bed. It took forever to fall asleep.

 _Forever._

Arthur was gone when Merlin woke up. All that happened after that was Merlin going for his morning pee break and Liam bringing him breakfast. That was it, and now, Merlin is alone in Arthur's room with nothing to do.

There's also the fact that Merlin can't stand being useless. When the king had said it, it had cut deeper than any knife he's come across. And being stuck in the prince's chambers with absolutely nothing to do while Arthur is out and about looking for a _dangerous_ sorcerer, is the farthest thing from reassurance.

"Merlin?"

Merlin stops pacing and looks up at the door. He didn't even notice that someone had approached the chamber doors and he is finding it difficult to pick out the scent of the person. God, this is bad. He's either too caught up in his pacing and worrying or Foul Moon is making him lose his senses of hearing and smell, maybe even both. He can't even identify the voice properly.

"Merlin?" the voice asks again with more concern, a female voice that is.

Merlin approaches the door cautiously, as Foul Moon tends to put dire wolves more on edge with their surroundings. Once he reaches the door, he nudges it open with his snout.

"Ah, there you are."

Merlin looks up.

"Gwen."

Gwen looks startled for a second, looking about rapidly.

"Shh," she says going to pat his snout but seems to second guess herself, not knowing whether to pet him or not.

Word must have gotten around that he doesn't feel well, and she clearly doesn't know whether to physically comfort him or not. He steps back, he doesn't want to be touched. She does stand up straight, but still acts nervous. He steps inside, giving Gwen room to enter but she stays outside.

"Oh, no," she smiles nervously. "I really shouldn't. I just came just to inform you that Arthur is searching servant chambers."

Merlin nods, seems reasonable.

"And I think he's going to go investigate Gaius's chambers soon," Gwen says, rubbing her hands together nervously.

Merlin doesn't react immediately, but when he actually processes what she says, he freezes.

" _Crap, crap, crap, crap!"_

Merlin didn't hide the spell book properly, Arthur might find it. He'll think it was Gaius. And Gaius will be…

Merlin bolts through the door, almost literally, as he hadn't opened it all the way and had shouldered past it. He runs past Gwen – who luckily moved out of the way earlier having probably known he was going to run out – and collides into the wall on the other side of the hall because he slipped on the hall rug and had _also_ tripped over his own paws in the process of trying to stop himself from slipping – it obviously didn't work because he did collide into the wall. Gwen lets out a surprised gasp and goes over to see if he is okay, but Merlin finds his feet and sprints down the hall – although he has to keep slowing down to make the sharp turns – without giving Gwen a chance to check on him.

" _Crap! If the search has only now begun in the castle, then they'll surly be in Gaius's chambers in at most a few minutes. But it could have started earlier if Gwen was only recently informed which only gives me at most a minute to reach the physician's quarters. Meaning it would be best to get there in seconds. But I'm too high up. Unless…"_

Merlin rounds one more corner and stops to look over the open railing with a view of the town below. There is a part of the castle – a roof part – that he can jump onto from the third floor – the next floor down – that is near an even lower roof that he can jump down to. Not only that, but if he keeps running across the roof, he can reach Gaius's chambers a lot quicker because the roof leads right to them. With that in mind, Merlin takes off towards the staircase, scaring a few passing servants. It takes a few seconds with how awkward it is to run down stairs, even skipping steps is hard and the Foul Moon doesn't help, but he does eventually make it to the third floor. As soon as he reaches the open railing, he jumps. He thinks he hears one servant scream in shock, he's not sure. He lands on the first roof just fine, slipping a bit on the shingles, but finds his balance. He races towards the edge where he remembers the second roof to be and jumps down. Easy landing as well, so he takes off towards Gaius's chambers. When he gets close, he finds an alley way next to the building where Gaius's chambers are and spots some stacked boxes below him. He doesn't even bother to contemplate if the boxes will be able to support his full weight and jumps down. Luckily the boxes can support his weight – he may not be the heaviest dire wolf or even of average weight, but he is still a dire wolf and is therefore heavy – and jumps down to the stone floor and exits the alley way.

The trip to Gaius's chambers is quick from there, but before he can enter the door, he sees two guards outside of it. They look up at the sound of him approaching, and quickly move out of the way as he growls and lunges at the door – which is open, thankfully – and stops to look around.

He cringes. Not only has he somehow forgot how much it hurts to be around the bodies, but now there are a few more laid out. Gaius is by his table doing nothing while Arthur makes his way up to Merlin's room, but they both turn around after hearing the guards outside clamor to get out of the way of the black dire wolf.

"Merlin! What do think you're doing here? You'll only make the Foul Moon worse!" Gaius all but shouts as he approaches Merlin.

A guard that is searching nearby – or was – raises his spear at the two of them and Merlin immediately falls into a defensive position, ready to lunge at the guard and attack him if he brings that spear any closer to Gaius. He bares his teeth and growls at him.

"Stop!"

The guard halts and lowers his spear, and Merlin turns to bare his teeth when he hears heavy footsteps coming from his right – from his room.

"Easy now, Merlin," Gaius warns, patting Merlin although the enchantment in the air create an uneasy feeling when Gaius does so. "I'm alright, they aren't attacking me."

Merlin stops growling at that. He looks around a bit and sees that it's true, and that Gaius is unharmed. But the book is still not hidden in his room. His apprehension is clear in his wobbly stance. Arthur looks at him with a raised eyebrow and… is that concern? God the Foul Moon is really getting to him.

"What's wrong with him?" Arthur asks Gaius, still looking at Merlin.

"I guess he grew bored of your chambers and went for a walk. Probably overheard someone say you were searching my chambers and either mistook that information for me being attacked or thought that it meant that I was in trouble with you. Like I may have been arrested… or something."

In reality, Merlin was worried about both, but now he's worried about getting into his room before Arthur or a guard notices the spell book.

"Alright then," Arthur sighs. "I'll just look in this room up here and I'll be out of your way."

"Much appreciated, Sire," says Gaius.

"What is up here anyway?"

"That would be Merlin's room."

Arthur stops at the top of the stairs and turns around to give Gaius a quizzical look.

"What?" Gaius's asks raising an eyebrow like he can't see what is so weird about giving an animal its own room – and admittedly the better room. "Do you see anywhere else a giant wolf can curl up without accidentally knocking something over."

Merlin can't even be bothered by that. It's true, he tends to roll around; more than a dire wolf should. He sleeps a lot more still when he's outside actually.

Arthur looks like he wants to say something else, but seems like he can't find the words, so he sighs and turns back around. Merlin follows, pulling out of Gaius's light grip when the physician tries to pull him back. He trots up the stairs and stands in the doorway while Arthur looks about. The prince doesn't seem put off by the fact that Merlin followed him in when he didn't tell him to, but Merlin figures that Arthur already doubts that he's going to find anything in here.

"Amazing," Arthur says, and Merlin turns to face him, worrying that Arthur found the book. "You don't need any clothes or really anything and you still make a mess. Do you even need the bed?"

Merlin doesn't completely hear the question, the bodies in the other room intensifying the Foul Moon. He still shakes his head anyway, getting the gist of the question. Besides, he spots the book on the floor next to the bed. Arthur walks around the other side of the bed, not noticing the book on the floor.

"How do you make such a mess anyway?"

Merlin doesn't respond, but he does take the chance to silently chant a spell to cover the book with the haphazardly tossed bed sheet – now even more haphazardly tossed and thankfully, a guard makes a loud sound as they search in the other room at the same time Merlin chants the spell, so Arthur obviously doesn't hear it. As Arthur walks back around the bed, he doesn't seem to notice the slight change. Merlin thinks himself lucky, but also wants to face palm at how lame Arthur is at searching. It's like he barely even tried. The prince exits the room and descends the few steps back into the main room. Merlin hesitantly follows. The bodies are really starting to get to him, but the incense that Gaius has laid about does seem to help.

"How long do you think it may be before you find a cure?" Arthur asks.

"It depends on how many interruptions I get," Gaius says, his displeasure evident on his face.

"Of course, I'm sorry," he looks to the guards around the room. "We're finished here."

They all file out, and as Arthur passes Gaius's work bench he seems to notice something on the table that catches his eye. That something turns out to be a small old looking blue book that Merlin sees when the Prince lifts it up. The guards stop outside the door, obviously waiting for Arthur.

"You'll have to go with Arthur now, Merlin. You really shouldn't be down here," Gaius tells the dire wolf, who seems to be walking stiffly through the room.

"What's this, Gaius?" Arthur turns the book over in his hand.

Curiosity peeked, the Prince then opens it to inspect its pages. Gaius walks over to get a better look at the book.

"Ah, that would be where I got the information on how enchantments affect dire wolves and the history of dire wolves tracking magic."

"Does it describe magic in any way?"

"Mostly about what kind of magic they track and how they can. But, I assume you meant if it has any magical properties or tells how to use magic."

"Yes," Arthur says, still turning the pages and looking at the drawings of big wolves chasing cloaked figures with devil horns that are surrounded by dark scribbles, or are running alongside horse riding men while surrounded by what looks like wind but must surely be the artists way of depicting a scent.

"If there is any, I don't know of it. This is a very old book and could have possibly been written by a sorcerer. One that was most likely trying to figure out how to heal dire wolves plagued by Foul Moon, of course there is a scientif…" Gaius rambles.

"Wait," Arthur finally looks Gaius in the eye. "There were sorcerers who were trying to _heal_ dire wolves? Don't they benefit from them being sick so that they can't track them?"

"They truly benefit when the dangerous and deadly sorcerers are tracked down and held responsible for their actions," Gaius replies, easily avoiding having to say that sorcerers are good, and therefore be suspicious.

Arthur looks back down at the pages and flips through them some more. When he closes it, he begins to gently caress the fraying spine of the book with his index finger.

"And you might be able to prevent Merlin from suffering Foul Moon?" Arthur asks, looking back at Gaius.

"Yes, but… My priority at the moment is finding a cure for this plague. Once I do so and heal everyone I can, then I can look into it more."

Arthur looks down at the book again and stares at it for a few seconds.

"Sire," A guard says from the hallway.

"Right," Arthur says to the guard before turning to look at Gaius again. "Could I possibly hold onto this for a while. At least during the time that Merlin stays with me. I would like to… read this."

Merlin tilts his head a little at that.

" _I didn't know he could read."_

"Certainly, Sire," Gaius says with a smile.

As Arthur goes to leave, Merlin begins to follow him.

"Actually Merlin," Gaius says catching both Merlin and Arthur's attention. "I realized that I need to take you somewhere."

"Where is that?" Arthur asks.

Gaius seems unsure for a while.

"Well, Sire… It's really only a guess at the moment, but I was thinking, while you all were searching my room…"

"Yes?..." Arthur prompts, putting the blue book in a pocket.

"I have an idea as to how the disease is spread," Arthur turns back into the room, a look of both amazement and shock on his face. "It's only a guess as I said earlier."

"But it's best to check anyway."

"Indeed, Sire."

"So what do you think it is?"

"Water."

Arthur looks taken aback by that.

"W-water? Are you sure about that Gaius?"

"Yes. Look at this body here," he says walking over to a female victim in a yellow dress. "What's different about her than the other victim over there?"

The other victim being the man he and Merlin found that morning. Arthur looks between the two of them.

"She's a courtier."

"Yes," Gaius says, looking proud of Arthur.

"How does that help us? How does it prove that it's because of water?"

"Courtiers seldom go down to the lower town. So what does that mean?"

"She doesn't come into contact with the townspeople."

Gaius nods in affirmation.

"And they don't eat the same kind of food," Arthur continues, staring at the far wall as he thinks.

"So what is the only thing they do share?"

Arthur turns to look Gaius in the eye.

"Water."

"Exactly, Sire. But it is still only a guess."

"Of course," Arthur stands up straight and grabs a bucket from near the bed. "Then I will go fetch you a bucket, so you can decide for yourself."

"Ah, ehhh," Gaius tries to think of an excuse. "If the townspeople see you getting water with your guards, they'll panic."

"Well I don't want to waste any time, so it's for the best that I go than ask for someone to go later," Arthur states, already heading for the door.

"And should everyone believe that I'm making an errand boy out of the prince? I don't quite know what your father would think of that, Arthur," Gaius calls Arthur by his name, emphasizing how serious this is to him.

"Then I will tell them that I decided to do it myself."

Gaius sighs and looks to Merlin who was turning his head from side to side, watching them talk.

"I need Merlin to go too."

Arthur stops in the doorway.

"But you said that he needs to stay in my chambers."

"Indeed I have, Sire. But I also said that dire wolves can smell the source of an enchantment, if it is found. If the well is the source, He'll know."

"So…" Arthur starts, looking down at Merlin. "He'll nod in agreement if I ask him if the water is the source or shake his head."

"He won't be able to go near it," Gaius says in a cut, serious voice.

"I don't want to make Merlin suffer, but he has to be able to tell us. But I'll still need the water so that I can try to find a cure."

There is a tense silence that hangs over the room for a few seconds, before Merlin decides to evacuate to get away from the bodies. Arthur moves out of his way.

"I'll go fetch the water for you."

With that he leaves for the lower town.

The trip to the lower town is quick. People move out of his way, or perhaps out of the way of the dire wolf at his side, maybe even both. So getting to the well is easy. Throughout the walk, Arthur would glance down at Merlin every now and then, checking for a reaction. When the water pump was in sight, Merlin became stiffer. Arthur kept walking to the pump, but after a few steps, Merlin stops in his tracks. He turns his snout away like a child refusing to look at the vegetables their parents are trying to make them eat. A small whine escapes the black beast, not very befitting of an animal his size.

"Well I guess we have our answer," Arthur mumbles to himself.

Luckily, no one is around the pump to see him fetching the water. Saves him the embarrassment, and Gaius the worry. Or so it was going to be.

Hurried footsteps alert Arthur to someone approaching. The bucket is full enough that Arthur can take it back to Gaius now, so he doesn't have to worry about that. When he looks up, he sees Gwen running in his direction with tears rolling down her face, her red cape flapping behind her. Merlin sees her too and takes a step in her direction.

"Gwen?" Arthur calls to her.

Gwen doesn't seem to hear him, nor see him, because she runs past him and the guards without sparing them a glance. Merlin watches her go.

"What was that about?" Arthur asks no one in particular, but his guards still offer him shrugs.

Merlin looks in the direction she came. And out of the corner of his eye, Arthur watches him walk in the opposite direction that Gwen went. Arthur follows, already having a sinking suspicion as where they're going, and what they are going to find.

Merlin doesn't walk to far, with his snout lowered as if tracking her scent, he leads them to a small house, with flowers surrounding it. Arthur knows this house. He knows who live here. The window is closed so he can't look in. He wasn't planning on opening the door because he wasn't invited in, but Merlin nudges the slightly ajar door open with his snout. Gwen must have been in such a rush that she didn't close her front door all the way. Merlin walks in uninvited, and Arthur follows.

Inside, is exactly what he didn't want to see, but already knew was going to be there.

Gwen's father, Tom, is laid out on his back in his bed.

Sick.

With the plague.


	13. Chapter 13

All day long Merlin has been moping in Arthur's chambers. He does feel somewhat better after being around all those bodies, as Arthurs' chambers are so far away from the plague; but mentally, he feels horrible.

Gwen was the first friend he made in Camelot. Really, the only friend, because no one quite understands him. And even though Merlin has never met Gwen's father before, he knows that Tom means the world to Gwen. Gaius had made it clear that Merlin can't use magic to heal anyone, even though he is very much capable. Merlin still can't quite see what is wrong with doing so. This would be the perfect opportunity to prove to Uther that magic can be used for good. There will still be the bad magic going around, but he could be saving all of these people. No one would have to die. Besides, Merlin would be the least suspected person to be practicing magic, he's a dire wolf!

Gwen's father won't have to die.

Merlin lifts his head from where it was resting between his paws on the old blanket. He looks towards Arthur's bed where the prince is sleeping. He snores into his pillow, purely exhausted from today's work. His blanket and sheets are tossed all around himself, which Merlin can clearly see, because he sees more of the covers than the prince. There is also the blue book that is left open on the bed, as Arthur had kept true to his word to Gaius and had spent what time he could to do some reading. _Some_ reading. He passed out fairly quickly and Liam didn't seem to notice the book when he put out the torches.

" _Gaius is going to be furious at me."_

Merlin stands and makes his way towards the door. He watches his steps to keep his claws from clacking on the floor. He keeps his eyes and ears turned towards the prince's bed, checking to make sure that he doesn't stir from his slumber to find Merlin leaving in the middle of the night. Though to be fair, he would probably think Merlin was going for a late night pee break. Merlin's just being overly cautious. He nudges the door open, cringing when it squeaks a little. He turns his head to look at Arthur. The prince only turns over in bed.

Merlin leaves as quickly as he can.

His first stop is Gaius's chambers. He remembers this time just how much this is going to hurt, but he has a plan and he needs to act on it, so he can't let this get to him. Because Gaius is a nice soul, who understands that sicknesses and injuries can occur at all hours, he tends to leave his door unlocked. So Merlin only needs to use a spell that opens it. Merlin is beginning to suspect that doors _try_ to get people caught when they're sneaking around at night. Maybe it's just him they're after. Luckily for him, Gaius tends to be a heavy sleeper, so he doesn't notice Merlin entering. The dire wolf all but dashes for his room, eager to get past the bodies. His room is much more bearable to be in, but he won't be in it for long. He lifts up the blanket that is covering the spell book to find that Gaius has not yet moved it. Probably didn't even know it was there. Silently, he opens the book and finds what he is looking for.

A poultice.

He reads, rereads, and rereads again everything he needs to know. Including how to make it, and the spells needed to activate it. He makes quick work of constructing it – but is careful enough so that it will actually work. With everything said and done, he hides the book in its true hiding place, just in case the guards check his room again. He needs to be careful. He exits his room with a satchel around his neck and holds his breath – as if it would help – as he sneaks past a snoring Gaius. He slightly shifts in his sleep a bit, and Merlin finds himself holding his breath for a whole different reason. Just like Arthur, Gaius only shifts in his sleep, he doesn't wake up. Unlike Arthur, if Gaius were to wake up and see him leaving his quarters, he could not excuse it for Merlin going for a pee break, because Merlin is not supposed to be down here.

Navigating through the courtyard and the town at night is fairly easy for Merlin. He of course has his advantages, from having better vision at night, advanced hearing and having a lot of experience sneaking around at night. He slips past the gate guards unnoticed and finds all the shadows to crawl in while in the lower town. There is a faint ringing in his ears and the enchanted plague leaves a prickling pain in his paws, as if he is walking across glass shards and thorns. He continues on nonetheless, barely suppressing a whimper when one random step erupts a burning pain throughout his front left leg. He didn't contain his cry well enough it seems like, as his ears swivel around towards the sound of approaching guards doing a late-night search for the wizard.

" _Well that complicates things."_

Shouldering the pain, Merlin quickly ducks behind stacked boxes filled with whatnots; he doesn't care enough to discern any scents from them. The tarp over top of them only helps in preventing him from smelling it. It however doesn't help when his tail swishes the corner of the tarp and it doesn't stop moving when the guards come around the corner. Merlin mentally curses both his always untimely clumsiness and his apparent bad luck in Camelot.

"What about over… in there?" A guard calls; not bothering to be quiet, almost even sounding like he's trying to be heard by someone hiding where Merlin is now.

" _You would think that someone who is smart enough to rightfully assume that a disturbance to a tarp could be a sign of someone hiding would also be smart enough to not talk loudly enough for the person hiding to be able to hear them. Hasn't anyone ever told him not to use his outdoor voice when searching for a sorcerer in hiding?"_ Merlin thinks.

"Certainly, sir," another says.

" _Now they're splitting up so that they are each alone. And…"_ Merlin listens to the loud crunching of the dirt and gravel as the second guard casually stomps over to Merlin's hiding place. _"Cares not about how loud he is as he approaches… again. Amateurs."_

But Merlin doesn't have time to gloat about his superior hunting skills or facepalm about these two guards' horrible searching. After all, a guard is still walking over to Merlin's hiding place.

Quickly looking about with only his eyes, to keep his head from moving and therefore give away his location, Merlin's eyes land on a door across the way.

" _ **Onstyrian, onbregdan,"**_ Merlin whispers.

His eyes flash an almost haunting gold before quickly fading. The door groans as it opens a smidge. But thankfully the guard that was approaching him, falls for it. When he gets close to it, inspecting the door as if the sorcerer is within the wood itself – seriously? – the door swings open and smacks him the face. With the guard effectively distracted, Merlin makes the dash, and remains silent while he does so. It does hurt, the pain still stabbing at his legs and his lungs, but he finally makes it to the Blacksmith's house. He opens the door – with magic, obviously – and squeezes through the opening.

The cold, metallic, spine stabbing pain hits him first. The sight hits him next. Gwen is leaning against her father's bed in a way that will surely cause her to have trouble walking in the morning, what with her legs definitely going to be asleep when she wakes up. Merlin takes an unconscious step into the house, only to feel a chilling tingle walk down his spine.

He would feel a lot better if he just walked away.

Physically.

He would feel guilty for making it this far and then tucking his tail and running away, especially when Gwen's father would be pronounced dead.

" _Gwen might even know that I have the ability to heal her father."_

That really stabs at Merlin's heart. Gwen _knows_ and if he doesn't do anything, she might resent him for the rest of her life. He would lose his friend.

Merlin takes a deep breath through his nose. He smells sweat, the undoubted scent of a blacksmith, an assortment of metals and… what is that? Rowan berries? He sniffs again. It is! And it actually smells refreshing in the intensity of the moments… for once. He doesn't remember Rowan berries ever smelling refreshing to him.

Feeling slightly at ease, even with the uncomfortable chill still present, and a newfound confidence, Merlin takes his next few steps in long strides and before he knows it, he's at Tom's bedside. He uses his teeth to open the flap of the satchel and slowly lowers it to the floor. The floorboards silently squeak underneath him. He stops and his ears swivel towards Gwen, as she would be the one to wake up under these circumstances. She doesn't even twitch. But looking closer at her features, Merlin can see how red and puffy her cheeks are and the faint trails of tears.

She's unintentionally and unknowingly guilt tripping him into this further.

He lowers the satchel the rest of the way and buries his snout into it. Gently, with as much pressure needed to not accidentally drop it, he grips the Poultice with his teeth and lifts it out of the satchel. Next comes placement. Under the pillow sounds like the best place. It's close – very close – to Tom and it is very well hidden; Merlin will just have to make sure it doesn't protrude enough for Tom to feel it. With that idea in mind, Merlin sets down the Poultice next the pillow so that it sits in the crevasse between the straw bed and the wall. When it doesn't threaten to roll off the edge, Merlin shifts to lift the corner of the pillow with his teeth and thankfully, Tom's head rolls to the side, facing away from Merlin.

…

Now how is he supposed to go about this?

He decides to hold up the pillow with his teeth, and lifts his right front paw – that is shaking a lot more than he wishes it would – and nudges the Poultice forward. He struggles a bit, but he eventually gets it far enough that he decides to lower the pillow.

Tom groans, which causes Merlin to once again freeze in place. Neither Gwen or Tow wake up.

" _ **bu fornimst adl fram guman"**_

The dire wolf watches as the sickness leaves the blacksmith's body. His face returns to a warm tan and he seems to let out a relieved breath. The icy feeling also leaves Merlin some, what with the sickness no longer being so close to him anymore.

Merlin doesn't bother closing the satchel and sneaks out of the house. Once out, he gently closes the door shut and walks over to the window of the Blacksmith's house. He looks about at his surroundings. No guards, thankfully. So, he pushes up onto his hind legs and rests his front paws on the window sill to look in. Of course, he is much taller than a human when he is on his hind legs, so he has to take a few steps back with his hind legs and awkwardly crouch. When that still doesn't prove to be good enough, he ducks his head till it's almost resting in-between his paws on the window sill.

Through the window, he sees that neither father nor daughter have moved from where Merlin left them; But now, Tom is stirring. He cracks open his eyes. When he really does open his eyes, He – luckily – doesn't seems to notice Merlin outside the window. His gaze first falls to Gwen and stays there. He reaches out a hand and touches her head. He smiles, the smile of a parent happy to see their child another day than they thought they would. He runs his fingers through the roots of her hair in what Merlin can imagine is soothing. Gwen starts to stir, confusion clear on her features. She looks up and while Merlin can't see her face, he's pretty sure that a fresh trek of (happy and hopeful) tears are staining her cheeks as Tom lowers his hand to most likely wipe them from his daughter's face.

"Father?" Merlin barely catches the choked plead through the glass.

"Gwen," he replies, sitting up properly.

Gwen launches at her father, trapping him a tight hug and openly crying her thanks into his shoulder. Tom doesn't complain and returns the hug.

Seeing this as a personal moment that he doesn't really have the right to interrupt, Merlin drops to the ground and makes his way back to the castle, sticking to the shadows where he can.

The prince's door is just as he left it. Although, to be fair, he didn't actually check it when he left, nor is he really paying attention as he walks back in. He's too tired to notice and is relying solely on memory where to go. He only vaguely remembers to drop the satchel before he reaches his bed. And he does find it alright, as he bumps into the side of it.

Odd, he doesn't remember it being elevated. Nonetheless, he steps up onto it.

Now it's a lot lumpier than he remembered it and there's a hard object at the head of it. Well, for the lumps, he probably just kicked around when he left. The hard object? He'll check in the morning.

With that, he slumps down and curls into a ball where the hard object touches him the least. Sleep comes easy to him.


	14. Chapter 14

When Arthur wakes up, he usually stretches in a half-awake state of mind. Usually when he wakes up, there isn't a large lump at the foot of the bed. A lump that is snoring.

An Intruder.

The most logical way to go about this, would be to move slowly and take a peek to see who is sleeping at the foot of his bed while he very carefully reaches for his sword by his bed.

The logical way is boring and will take too long.

Arthur pulls back his foot and give an all mighty push, simultaneously reaching over the side of his bed and grabbing his sword where it always rests in case of an emergency. He hears an inhuman yelp and turns back just in time to watch…

Merlin fall off the bed.

Arthur doesn't know whether he should yell at him or laugh. He settles for just watching. And boy is it a show. Because Merlin doesn't just fall off the bed. He tumbles. One of his hindlegs gets caught in the duvet while one of his front paws manages to get twisted in the sheets. He tries to stand up on the bed but considering the state that both the prince and the dire wolf left everything in, he doesn't make it very far. In hopes of trying to save himself, he instinctually tries to lay on his stomach, but he is still caught up in all the bedding so his whole body twists around. Arthur thinks Merlin is still groggy from sleep as when the dire wolf turns his head to see who or what bumped into him, he looks the wrong way and whacks his head on one of the posts at the foot of the bed.

As if that wasn't humiliating and funny enough. Merlin tries again to stand up, using his free legs to get balance, but Arthur "accidentally" drags the sheets towards himself with his foot that is still underneath all of it, which causes Merlin's free hind leg to slip underneath his body, get tangled with the other…

… and finally fall off the edge of the bed with an added hilarious yelp of surprise; Followed by a groan of pain.

Arthur has since lowered his sword so that it lays on the bed. There is some grumbles and shuffling on the floor, but as he doesn't see any sign of the dire wolf getting up, he places the sword back in its bedside holding and scoots down the bed to peek over the foot of the bed.

Only a peek, can't be sure what Merlin will do. He could still be confused after all.

Looking over the edge, Arthur sees Merlin sprawled across the floor. His limbs keep shifting, as if he's trying to find his footing but then immediately giving up, followed by immediately trying to find a new place to place his paw. He is so out of it. Arthur actually kind of feels bad for him. He's still isn't happy that the giant wolf was sleeping on his bed, but admittedly, these past few days have been pretty rough for Merlin. He had actually been doing pretty well for the most part, but this morning…

He's definitely not doing good.

Maybe he just hit his head on the bed post to hard.

When Arthur leans a bit further over the bed, Merlin seems to finally notice him. And recognizes him.

Merlin glares at the prince as the pieces fall into place for him. With a huff, Merlin lifts himself up, a bit wobbly but still on all fours. Arthur sits back down on his bed amid his blankets and sheets. A hand cautiously reaching towards his sword. But Merlin only gives him one last glare before his ear swivels to the door.

Arthur's hand still reaches further to the sword as Merlin pauses to try to decide who or what is making the sound. Arthur is already pretty sure that it is either Liam or another servant – most likely Liam – but again, it's best to be cautious in case an intruder decided to attack in the morning. Unheard of, but still possible.

Arthur relaxes when Merlin does, as a second later, Liam indeed walks through the doors to the chambers.

Liam always tries to be quiet so as to not wake the prince too abruptly, and then get yelled at for it; but Liam is not very good at sneaking around and knows from past experience not to try to be _too_ quiet or else risk getting his head nearly chopped off.

Arthur in the morning is a 'swing first, evaluate the situation later' kind of guy… on most mornings at least.

When Liam finally steps in with a plate of breakfast in his arms – because he's always afraid he's going to drop it – Arthur notices the moment when the serving boy becomes aware of the _situation_ , so to speak. He pauses in his steps, looks at the disheveled Merlin, the bed that is tossed more than usual and the wide awake and _frustrated_ Arthur sitting in that tossed up bed. A question forms on the boy's lips, but no sound comes out.

"Liam," Arthur says in the calmest voice he can manage.

"Yes!"

The boy straightens his spine and looks at Arthur, although not making eye contact as that is forbidden of someone of his class towards royalty.

"Merlin has his own bed, yes?"

That seems to be enough of an explanation. Liam looks towards the tossed duvet that lays in the corner of the room.

"Y-yes he does, Sire."

"Good," Arthur plasters a smile on his face, that doesn't completely reach his eyes and lets out a sigh. "Just checking."

Merlin grumbles before walking past Liam, making sure to rub against the boy's leg to get as much of his scent on the clean pair of trousers as he can in one go. Liam had been awkward about it to begin with, but has come to accept the weird behavior of the dire wolf. Though it could have also been that Liam, like most people, is not used to having physical contact with a dire wolf, much less being near one on a daily basis. That could be it too.

Once Merlin is almost out the door, Liam finally walks over to Arthur's bedside to arrange everything so that the prince can eat in bed. Liam's back is to Merlin so he doesn't see the threat that Merlin makes when he stops in the door way.

But Arthur sees it.

He watches as Merlin makes eye contact with him and raises his hind leg. Angled perfectly at the hinges of the door.

Panic and anger course through Arthur, but he tries to hide it as best as he can. When Liam is facing away from both the prince and the dire wolf, Arthur shakes his head vehemently, trying to convey how much Merlin will suffer if he does what he's thinking of doing.

Obviously, Arthur won't be the one to clean it up if he does it, but there is still the fact that he will have to walk through the doors knowing what Merlin did there. But with a glance at Liam, in hopes that Merlin will understand that Liam will suffer the most if Merlin goes through with it, Merlin does not keep true to his threat…

… for now.

Merlin finally leaves for his morning pee break.

Arthur lets out a sigh of relief and falls back onto his bed. His left arm whacks a hard leathery object on its way down. When Arthur looks to investigate, he sees the book of dire wolf history.

Oh, yeah. That's right. He was planning to do some reading to see if he could find anything. He remembers getting a few pages in, but… he doesn't remember anything he read.

Arthur groans, laying his head back into the pillows and closing his eyes.

"S-sire?"

"Yes," Arthur responds without opening his eyes.

"Um, well," Liam had always been a nervous speaker, but no matter Arthur's efforts, he just doesn't spit out whatever needs to be said. "The King wanted me to let you know, because Gaius wanted me to let the King know, that the King, wait no – you _and_ the King are wanted in the physician's quarters because he thinks he found something!"

"Gaius?" Arthur is always confused after Liam explains something – the kid just can't keep the story straight.

"Yes, Sire!"

Liam is also always too enthusiastic and chirpy in the morning. At least one of them is.

"Did Gaius say what he might have found?"

There is a pause.

"I'll take that as a no."

Arthur finally pulls himself into a sitting position so that he can eat properly, because if he doesn't get up, Liam is just going to stand around waiting for him to get up rather than try to get Arthur up. The poor lad doesn't have a backbone.

Liam sets about laying out the napkins and holds out the plate for him. While Arthur could go ahead and just have Liam hold it rather than try to balance the plate on his lap, he had decided from previous experiences that it is too awkward having a servant leaning over the bed for minutes on end just watching him eat his food. _Leaning over_ _him_ and watching him eat his food. Obviously, servants watch the royals do a lot of stuff, and while Arthur enjoys all the attention, even he has to admit that he prefers having a little bit of space when he eats. It's also uncomfortable when he can feel the servant's breath on his bare skin because of them leaning over him. Liam on the other hand has tried multiple times to hold his breath when he has to do this – because he had drunkenly complained to the boy about the whole thing – and while Arthur appreciates that, he's not really up for Liam passing out on top of him, or at all, really.

As Liam steps back to prepare Arthur's outfit for the day, Arthur notices the slight sweat on the boy's brow and the hint of dark circles under his eyes.

Arthur resists a groan. Liam is terrible when it comes to managing his own time. He's great at arranging everything for Arthur, but he always sacrifices himself. Always had since their younger years.

Arthur picks up the only apple on his plate – and really, the healthiest thing on his plate.

"Liam."

"Y-yes, Sire?" Liam turns to address the prince.

Arthur does an underhand toss of the apple at Liam. The boy fumbles a bit, but manages not to drop it – though it did get pretty close.

"I prefer sweets," the prince states, poking around his plates to see everything there is. "But it's best not to waste such a nice apple," he adds as an afterthought.

Though Arthur doesn't look at him, he can still see in his peripheral vision, Liam bow in respect.

"Thank you… Sire."

Uther stares at the small glass vial sitting alone on the work bench. The little flowers within the water normally wouldn't interest him in the least, it wouldn't even make a good decoration for a party. But if what Gaius just said is true, then he will give this little display his undivided attention.

Even as Arthur tentatively reaches for it, he stares long and hard at it, as if trying to compel it to somehow reveal the sorcerer through his stare alone.

"Don't touch it," Gaius states, causing Arthur to retract his hand. "I had this in the water for no more than a few hours."

Arthur steps away, standing at a respectable distance from the tainted water.

"Where is the water from?" Uther askes, getting straight to the point – no use prancing around the subject, he has a job to do as the King.

Even with his eyes still focused on the vial, Uther doesn't miss the way Gaius slightly turns to face Arthur, giving him a look that Uther still can't quite see. It means something, but he will decide if that something is worth investigating later.

"The pump where the people take their daily supply," Gaius replies.

Uther sees his son shift out of the corner of his eye.

"We may have to stop the people from using it," the Crown Prince says.

"The city cannot survive without water," Gaius reminds him, although his tone shows that he also knows that they can't keep letting people drink from it.

"We have to find this sorcerer!" Uther states, his fist clenching.

This has gone for too long. His people are dying and this sorcerer is a coward by hiding and probably knows that Merlin is useless in this situation. Which is why the knights need to take care of this. At least now Gaius can give more time to finding a way to fix the Merlin problem. While the dire wolf is useless in this situation, he's not _completely_ useless in the castle. He is still very much capable of instilling fear in others.

Arthur hesitates for a second.

"I… don't believe that they're inside Camelot."

"Then extend the search to the villages!" Uther roars, rising to feet and nearly toppling his chair.

The King spares a quick glance to the physician, and upon said man's face is a warning frown. Gaius knows his place, and knows that Uther has just as much right to act how he pleases here, as the Court Physician's office is a part of the castle, _his_ castle; but Uther will respect his old friend's silent wish.

But only a little.

He's still the King. The very frustrated King.

"We've started, but I can't search the entire kingdom," Arthur states with a slightly raised voice.

Uther sees and hears the frustration seeping out of his son. But he himself is still just as angry, if not more.

"And I can't stand by and watch our people die," Uther says using the tone that tells the prince that this conversation is over.

Arthur's jaw clenches, and a brief look of self doubt crosses his face, but the prince has learned a long time ago to hide those kinds of faces because they show vulnerability, so he quickly nods and leaves the room. The door doesn't slam, but it doesn't close quietly either.

Uther hates seeing his son like that, but it is just a part of preparing the Crown Prince for Kinghood. If Uther was a man of lower class, he would show his son just how much he loves him in more open gestures. But if he was of a lower class, he would never have gotten to embrace his wife, his…

He turns to face Gaius. There is a stern look on his aged face, a look that Uther has come to associate as Gaius wanting to reprimand him like with a child doing something bad, but he must see the sadness on his King's face. A look, at this point, only the Court Physician is allowed to see. Not often, but Gaius knows.

Gaius always knows.

"Raising a child," Gaius sighs. "Is never easy."

"He believes I am disappointed in him."

"Obviously."

Uther glares at him. Gaius isn't fazed.

"But he also knows that you care for him, just as much as he cares for you."

Uther and Gaius have had this conversation many times over the past couple of decades, even before Arthur was born, when Uther was worried about his parental abilities to his child-to-be. But despite how many times they have had this talk, it never got any easier.

"I am glad at least one of can see that."

"And I am glad that we both can agree that Arthur loves you," Gaius retorts.

Uther scoffs. Gaius had always liked to take stabs at him when he doubted his own son's love for him. So whenever Uther unconsciously agreed that Arthur cares for him, Gaius would tease him about it. It works, obviously, as a hint of a smile graces the King's face.

Gaius walks up to him and places his hand on his good shoulder. If he were any other man, Uther would throw him the stocks for his behavior towards the King. But Gaius isn't any other man, so Uther enjoys the warm comforting hand while he can.

"He will miss you when you're gone. I know, even though the day when he will take the crown is far away, he will miss you."

Uther looks Gaius in the eye and lets a playful smile take over his face.

"You say that as if you will be here to see that day."

Gaius glares at him. Uther isn't fazed.

"As the King, I would have thought that you would have learned to respect your elders," he replies in a mock hurt tone of voice.

Gaius knows how old he is. Besides, it's an old joke between them. It doesn't matter to them if others don't get their jokes, or think that the two of them are crazy for the stuff that they say to each other. They don't care. It's just who they are with each other.

"I am respecting you," Uther states as he stands up straighter and crosses his arms. Gaius's hand remains in place, plus a slightly stronger grip, but Uther pretends he doesn't notice. "I am merely pointing out that by that time, you will have retired to a lovely cabin in the woods where you won't have to deal with the dramatics of a kingdom, as well as its King and Prince. You'll be at such peace in your new quiet home that you won't hear of Arthur's crowning."

It feels good to pass jokes with Gaius again. Just like they used to when they were silly youths, talking about a future that they didn't understand would be so different from what they hoped.

Gaius gives Uther's shoulder a firmer squeeze, followed by a pat on the back. With one last playful glare with a mischievous grin, Gaius takes one last stab at his King.

"Well maybe you can prove that respect by giving this old man some space to work. I am after all very busy with my, ' _silly healer nonsense.'_ "

Uther would never admit to anyone that that made him snort.

For the greater part of the day, everything had been good for Gwen. First and foremost, her father had recovered miraculously. She doesn't know how but she isn't about to complain. There was gossip going about that Gaius had discovered the cause of the sickness. No one knows for sure what it is. But seeing how it was a secret meeting between the Court Physician and the royals, no one wants to risk their neck and go ask. If the King thinks it's best not to let anyone know, it must be for a good reason. Morgana is also doing much better. She still suffers from the nightmares, but she is doing better, despite the sickness that floods the town. Gwen is still upset about all that. It is sad that while her father is alive and well – again, she's relieved that he's alright – many others are suffering the loss of people they love. Merlin has also been doing better. Of course, everyone is trying to keep him in the upper most parts of the castle, which keeps him from going out often.

That's something else that Gwen wants to do. Maybe she can convince Morgana to let her borrow some books from the shelves to find something that can help protect Merlin from the enchantment.

Morgana would definitely be up for that.

Speaking of Morgana. Her clothes need to be cleaned and… oh dear, is that a wrinkle!? Gwen goes about gathering Morgana's clothes, organizing them by dirtiness and the severity of wrinkles – not that there are very many at all, Gwen always makes sure that Morgana's clothes are of the finest quality. A minute or so later, she hears the tell-tale sound of Merlin walking down the corridor. He always makes sure that his claws don't clack on the ground when he's sneaking about – from what Gwen hears of the servants' horror stories in the kitchen and the washboard area – but when he doesn't want to sneak up on others, his claws clack a bit loudly. Gwen keeps working – not knowing that she is also humming - as she hears him enter through the open door. Soon all is silent except her humming. Obviously, Merlin doesn't want to say anything if Morgana is around, so he's probably checking.

"Morgana's not hear right now."

Gwen turns around just in time to see Merlin shake his head in… pain? Confusion? He doesn't look too good? That can't be good, which confirms a thought she has been having all day.

"I also believe that you did more than sleep last night," she states, looking Merlin in the eye, or at least as much as she can when his eyes don't focus very easily.

"Why would you think that?"

He sounds almost offended. His voice takes on that pitch that it does when he knows he's been caught, just like when she first met him.

"Oh, I don't know," she hums, rocking slightly on her feet. "I just got this feeling."

Merlin finally is able to make eye contact. He sighs, resigning to his fate.

"Okay, I did it."

"Thank you," Gwen says with all of her feeling put behind those two words.

Merlin looks a bit shocked, which then morphs into shyness as he turns his head away. Gwen can still see the slight wag of his tail, no matter how much he tries to hide. But she still has one last question, but she is admittedly a little bit afraid to ask it.

"What about the others?" She asks in a quiet voice.

Merlin looks at her, confused.

"Others?"

"Everyone else, who has been… affected by the sickness."

Merlin is completely still for a few seconds before he once again looks away. This time he looks down. He is upset about his apparent disability to heal everyone else, Gwen can tell.

"I didn't know what this was at first… There wasn't anything I could do at that point."

That… makes sense.

Merlin looks up and makes eye contact with Gwen again. This time, she can see his determination. His stance physically straightens in a way that if this was a different scene to be meeting a dire wolf in, she would be afraid.

"But now that I know, I will do whatever it takes to fix all of this."

Gwen smiles at his determination.

"I hope you can," Merlin makes to leave. "But…"

Merlin pauses in the doorway and turns back to Gwen.

"You still can't go into town because the Foul Moon will only get worse."

"Rowan berries and Rowan tree bark."

Now it's Gwen's turn to pause in her movements.

" _What?"_

"What?"

"They are basic enchantment counter materials. They can't fix all of this, but they should be enough to protect me from Foul Moon. I would only need to wear a pouch of a hand full of the berries or have my scarf infused with the bark."

"Oh," Gwen says, if only to be able to say anything at the moment.

She is still very much confused by all that Merlin said, but she got the gist of it. After it finally sinks in she smiles triumphantly.

"I'll tell Lady Morgana! I have some Rowan berries at my house and I'm sure if Arthur knows, he can grab some when he goes out to search the nearby villages," She says excitedly, then stops to think about it. "Or maybe he'll get someone else to do it."

Gwen thinks she sees a smile grace Merlin's muzzle. It's hard to tell because of his wolfish features.

"See you later."

With that, he leaves.

It's a shame really, that after that, things only get worse for Gwen.


	15. Chapter 15

There is a commotion in the castle. Morgana was startled from her book when the muffled cries rang through the corridors. From what she could tell, it was coming from the direction of her chambers.

She placed her book down perhaps a little too forcibly, but she did not care.

" _Curse this dress!"_

She clutches at her silk gown and raises it enough for her to jog as fast as she can. Being a lady of high status left her without the strength and speed that many men have, but desperation and fear are powerful motivators.

She climbs the steps as quickly as she can. Jumping up two whenever she can, which admittedly isn't many times, considering how tired she already is and her stupid dress. It's a lovely dress, and absolutely comfortable to wear on most occasions, but not when she's trying to get to someone in distress.

And she has a sinking feeling as to who it is.

Posted outside are two guards, but she knows that there was no assigning of guards to her room. If there had been, one guard would have come to her to guard her personally.

When the guards notice her, they give a quick salute. When they realize that she's in no mood to ask questions – given by how quickly she's marching towards them – they move to block her path. She has none of that as she pushes the spears aside. The guards wouldn't actually want to hurt her, so she knows she's safe.

"—ventions of the laws of Camelot, that you did practice enchantments," she hears a male voice say, a voice she recognizes.

When she finally steps into her room, she can barely contain herself. Gwen is just about sobbing. She looks terrified and is as pale as ghost; she looks like she has seen one. The guards are just starting to pull Gwen away towards the door.

"Gwen?"

Arthur's broad back remains to the door, but Morgana can see how he turns his head to acknowledge Morgana's presence.

"But what have I done!?" Gwen cries as she is dragged, her knees failing her. "I haven't done anything!"

Morgana makes eye contact with a teary eyed Gwen, and her heart completely shatters. She wants to cry too.

"Help me, Please!" Gwen begs.

Morgana can hear the scuffle of feet, armored and not, in the corridor. For a few seconds, all Morgana can do is stand there and try to get her heart rate back to normal. She feels as if she might pass out.

She feels as if she can't breathe.

She hopes to any higher power that this is all just a nightmare. She hates nightmares, but she doesn't want this to be real.

It can't be real.

But it is, so she whips around and faces Arthur, who is just starting to turn around. She can see a glimpse of dejectedness and sadness, covered by an almost convincing stoic facade. But she doesn't have time to acknowledge that. She is upset right now and she needs answers.

Now.

"What are you doing?" she all but yells at him.

He doesn't even flinch. He knew this would happen, knew she would react like this. That just makes her angrier because that means that he knows all the answers and will win this argument – because it most definitely will be an argument. _Darn him!_

"I found a magic poultice in her house."

He says it so simply, as if discussing the quality of supper. And he has the audacity to look indifferent in a situation like this!? At least he looks somewhat guilty, but if he cared enough, he would have dealt with this better.

Morgana can't hold back the un-lady-like scoff.

"Oh, that's ridiculous."

" _Absolutely absurd."_

"Then how do you explain her father's recovery?"

" _Oh… oh."_

So this is just Arthur trying to convince himself now. How dare he! If he wants to try to convince himself of his verdict he should do it in the mirror! Morgana is tired of having these empty conversations with him. But actually thinking on what he just asked her… If he doesn't know then why is he bothering asking her?

"Well," she starts. "S-she's innocent! I know she's innocent!"

Maybe the _actual_ sorcerer likes Gwen's father. He is a good man indeed. The others were good too… but she had only ever met Tom. If the sorcerer had ever met Tom, then it would make sense if they would want to spare him.

"What can I do?" Arthur asks, but Morgana can tell it's more for himself. "I can't turn a blind eye!"

With that, he brushes past her and storms out, following after the guards and their crying prisoner.

Morgana scoffs.

She can't help it. Even if no one is here to hear it. This is just ridiculous. Arthur can't possibly know that Gwen is a sorceress. Just because a magical object was found in her house. If he thinks himself some great detective, then he should know that it is possible that someone else could have broken into Tom's house and put the poultice there. Tom is the blacksmith. It's not uncommon for people to come knocking on his door for help, especially knights needing help with their armor and swords. And Tom is such a trusting person at that, he usually leaves his door unlocked in case anyone needs immediate access to his house, or shelter in general. If trouble ever dared to step into his house, he knows how to protect himself and Gwen.

Arthur never knew Gwen super well, but Morgana could see that he also knows that Gwen is innocent.

He knows it's too obvious.

But if he tries to convince his father otherwise… it's an uphill battle. Uther won't hear it, no matter what.

She might as well help.

She sprints out of her chambers, not bothering closing the door. She passes many servants who all bow to her in respect, but she ignores them for once. She normally greets them back and sometimes engages in light conversation with the ones she knows better or the new ones who are still so nervous. But today, she has somewhere to be.

She heads straight for the council chamber, knowing that that is where Arthur will be taking Gwen first. Uther still needs to give his word.

Morgana already knows what he's going to say.

She approaches the doors and this time, the guards posted don't bother to stop her. Good.

"—I didn't do anything!"

"I believe you," she says loud and clear. "Perhaps this a disease that is not always fatal. Have you thought of that? Perhaps he recovered naturally."

Uther glares at her, but his eyes lack their natural shine. Even that horrific glint when he's angry isn't there. His eyes always seem so empty when magic is concerned.

"And what of this poultice that was found?"

"What poultice? I don't know anything about a poultice!" Gwen pleas.

"It was found in your house," he says.

"Well that doesn't mean that it _was_ Gwen. Someone could have snuck in and put it there!" Morgana all but yells, ignoring the slight crack in her voice.

"Undo this enchantment."

Morgana feels her body go stiff. Uther isn't even acknowledging her presence any more. A cold shiver runs down her spine. It's not the sickness grabbing at her, she knows that.

She's just never been ignored.

It only feels worse considering the situation in which she is being ignored.

"Put an end to this contagion."

"I can't."

Morgana wants to say more. Knows that she _needs_ to say more.

" _Why can't I speak?"_

She can't move.

"I will show you no mercy."

Morgana never likes passing out. She hates the feeling of her legs giving out. Hates the feverish heat that takes over her body in those few seconds of falling. This is the first time she has ever wanted to voluntarily and completely faint. She can't stand to hear the rest of this. But a large part of her needs to know what Gwen's fate is. She hates that, because she knows what Uther will decide.

The conversation dies away to the ringing in her and the thumping of her heart.

" _Is this what a shattering heart feels like?"_

That's only supposed to happen when love fails a person. Though, Morgana guesses, her and Gwen's relationship can be considered love. Not romantic, no, it's…

… It's a friendship that Morgana can find no comparison to.

In the next instant moment, along with the ringing and beating of her broken heart, Morgana can hear Gwen crying and screaming "no" over and over as she's dragged from the room. Morgana doesn't want to look.

But she does.

Now she knows that her heart is breaking.

All of the courtiers leave as well and the grand doors close. That sound is what gets Morgana to whip around and face the King.

"I know Gwen," she is surprised to hear how clear her voice is when she's on the verge of tears." She's my maidservant, not an enchantress."

"Have you ever seen an enchantress?"

Uther looks at her. No… he looks though her. Like he's in distress, as if he feels sad. Uther doesn't make sense to her. He can sentence a girl to death without a bat of the eye and looks distant afterwards, as if he hadn't. But Morgana gets the sinking feeling it's not Gwen that upsets him.

"Believe me," his voice is quiet but loud at the same time. "They bear no sign, no mark. There is no sense of evil in their eyes."

"I've seen the way the girl works. Her fingers are worn, her nails are broken. If she was a sorceress, why would she do this?"

That's a question that Morgana realizes has been asked so many times. A question no one seems to have the answer to.

"Why would she kneel on a cold stone floor after morning when she could make these things happen with a snap of her fingers? Like an idle king!"

"You have no right!"

His voice booms throughout the council chambers, echoing the voice of the angry dragon of a man.

Uther is out of his throne in a second. Morgana can't help but take a step back, if only to prevent herself from falling down the few steps that she is so close to.

"I have a responsibility to take care of this kingdom! I take no pleasure in this!"

How can he say such a thing? He does this so often that he surely must get satisfaction from sentencing people to death. For what other reason would he continuously execute people at the slightest rumor of magic.

"But you're sentencing the wrong person!"

She has no other argument. She knows that she can't verify that Gwen is incapable of using magic, but she knows deep down that Gwen is innocent. And if she has magic… well, she healed her father. No one knows for sure that she caused the plague.

Arthur steps forward. Morgana hadn't even realized he was there.

"She's right, Father. You hear the word magic, you no longer listen."

That is also true.

"You saw it for yourself," Uther says, looking at his son. "She used enchantments."

" _No, he found a poultice in her house. That still doesn't mean that Gwen put it there."_

"Yes," Arthur agrees before pausing and adding quickly. "Maybe… But to save her dying father, that doesn't make her guilty of creating a plague."

Morgana would love to point out that Arthur is the one who came storming into her room to grab Gwen _and_ was the one to say that she was guilty earlier. But seeing how he is on her side with this now, she will refrain.

"One's an ack of… of kindness, of love," Arthur continues. "The other of evil. I don't believe evil's in this girls' heart."

Arthur has done quite the turn-around from when he was in her room just minutes ago. He has a bad tendency of doing that. He only shows his concern for those accused and arrested in front of his father, but neglects to do so in front of the accused. It creates the idea – in the head of the accused – that Arthur doesn't actually care for them. If Arthur does care, he should start showing his belief in people _where they can see it for themselves_.

"I have witnessed what witchcraft can do," Uther says with venom in his words.

Uther is not one to cower and stand down when he is out numbered. He stands his ground, tall and strong. That can be so tiring sometimes. Especially in situations like these.

"I have suffered at its hand. I cannot take that chance. If there is the slightest doubt about this girl, she must die or the whole kingdom may parish."

"I understand that," Arthur says quickly.

Uther steps toward Arthur with slow deliberate steps. Morgana again, finds herself at a lack of words.

"One day," the King says in a low deep voice, Morgana almost doesn't hear it, but she does. "You may become King. Then you will understand. Such decisions must be made. There are dark forces that threaten this kingdom."

"I know."

Arthur's voice sounds a little choked, but Uther doesn't say anything about it.

"… Magic is an evil, father. So is injustice."

Uther doesn't step back, but Morgana gets the sense that he wasn't expecting this kind of back talk. He was expecting something, that is obvious with Uther's character, but he wasn't expecting something like this.

"Yes, I am yet to be King, and I don't know what kind of King I will be, but I do have a sense of the kind of Camelot I would wish to live in. It would be where the punishment fits the crime."

Uther pauses for what feels like years. A small part of her hopes that Uther has finally been convinced to call this off, to have a sense as to what he's doing is wrong. But the rest of her knew that he's not going to change after only a few words. She was, however, not at all expecting what he said next.

"I fear you're right. She's played with fire, and sadly, she must die by fire."

Morgana fleas after that. She can't deal with this anymore.

Gaius looks down at the dejected Merlin sitting before him. Guilt isn't just written over his face, it's emanating off of him. He won't even meet Gaius' gaze as he ties the pouch full of rowan berries around his neck.

When the two of them had witnessed Gwen being dragged down the hall, listening to her pleas and her statements of innocence, claiming not to be a sorceress, Gaius knew.

He understood what Merlin had done.

He had reprimanded the dire wolf for his stupidity in the safety of his chambers, which had since been cleared of bodies and aired out to the best of his abilities. Gaius knows that Merlin, due to his form, is the least likely suspect, so he will be safe so long as he doesn't speak in front of anyone… or anyone else.

There is still the slightest chance that Gwen will reveal Merlin's secret, but Gaius has known Gwen for a long time. She won't say anything.

Before Merlin fled the room – possibly in search of Gwen – he had reminded Gaius about the enchantment repelling properties of rowan berries. At the moment, Gaius only has access to rowan berries, but he asked a servant who was going out to the forest for some herbs to peel some bark off a rowan tree so that it may fastened into Merlin's scarf at a later date. It will take a while, but it will be more effective and last a lot longer in the long run.

Merlin returned later, dejected. From what Gaius could get from him, Merlin didn't actually get his chance to see Gwen. That would make sense if Uther was dictating her sentence when Merlin sought Gwen out. The dire wolf hasn't lifted his head since he got back. He hasn't even touched the meat that Gaius put out for him. Luckily, Gaius never has to cook Merlin's meat so he just wrapped it up and put it outside for any alley dogs and cats. If rats wanted a go at it, then so be it. But who knows, maybe Merlin will actually be the one to eat it later.

"I thought I was doing good and that curing Gwen's father would help her," Merlin finally says. "I thought I was saving a life. It seemed so simple."

Gaius understands. He remembers when he was young, when the simple option seemed like the best, like it would solve all of life's problems. But life has shown him that that is not always the case. Sometimes, doing the right thing isn't the _right_ option.

Merlin still has so much to learn. A long life yet to live.

"An easy solution… is like a light in a storm," Merlin's sad azure eyes finally meet his. "Rush for it at your peril, and it may not always lead you to a safe harbor."

Gaius finally deems the rope and pouch secure. It shouldn't fall off no matter Merlin's actions. The rowan berries won't stop him from using his magic, because he himself is magic, even a simple magic resistant like rowan berries won't keep his magic at bay. But Merlin doesn't need to know all that yet.

Merlin is quiet for a long time, looking back down at the floor.

"… I can see that now."

Gaius reaches forward and rubs Merlin's ear. He leans into the touch, but doesn't show any other acknowledgement of Gaius' actions. The poor boy has a lot of suffering yet to see…

… Yet to feel.

"How many times have I warned you about the responsibilities of being a warlock?"

Gaius wishes that he wouldn't have to go through all of this. He wishes so much that he could protect him from the world and protect him from the truth of who he is. He doesn't want Merlin to learn what he truly is, for Merlin may not like himself if he finds out.

But he must.

He has to learn to truth of his father and mother eventually. But Gaius will hold back for now. That day is not today.

"… I must see her."

With that he flicks his ear out of Gaius' hand and leaves. Nudging the door open with his snout and closing it with his hind leg.

He's traveled in the direction of the dungeons many times. In his travels to see Kilgharrah.

He passes Morgana who is crying. She doesn't seem to notice him and while Merlin wants to stop and comfort her, he still needs to get to Gwen. When he passes the guards they don't seem to think much of him. They notice him, but don't do anything.

He follows the sound of Gwen's crying, choosing not to follow her scent as it only leaves him thinking of her being dragged here. Hearing her sobs isn't much better, but at least he will only think of her. When he finally reaches her cell, he stops and watches her for a while. Her back is to him. She is leaning against the wall, her form curled up. She is visibly shaking. All Merlin can sense from her is despair.

Oh, he truly is an idiot and a bad friend.

"Gwen," he whispers, cautious of the guards down the hall.

She turns at the sound of her name. Now Merlin can see the extent of her anguish. She looks like hell. Her face is red and raw from crying. Her hair is an absolute mess and her hair tie doesn't seem to be serving its purpose anymore.

She crawls forward to get to the bars so that she can be near him, but the sound of chains is Merlin's first warning. She stops a little past the center of the room. They both look back and see her left ankle encased in an iron shackle.

Gwen looks at Merlin again, and there is a sad smile on her face. She looks as if she wants to laugh at it, but knows that the situation is already too dark to do so. She lays down and reaches towards him. Merlin gets the message. He steps forward and sticks as much of his head as he can through the bars. With their combined efforts, it's enough for Gwen's whole hand to rest against his snout. She can't reach further than that. If Merlin pushes any further, he'll get stuck.

This will be enough for now.

"Thank you."

Merlin opens his eyes, not remembering closing them. He looks into Gwen's glimmering eyes.

"What for?"

Both of their voices are groggy.

"For one, healing my father… and for visiting me."

That hurts. That really hurts Merlin.

"I'm…"

"Please don't," Gwen interrupts. "Please don't apologize."

"But…"

"I am not angry with you."

Merlin doesn't know what to say. Gwen should be angry. He's the reason why she's in here. If he had simply gone back and removed the poultice in the morning or had actually went out and _spoke_ to someone, then Gwen wouldn't be in this cell.

The place where he should be, chained to the wall.

But he can't blow his cover. He has a mission to do. He can't get himself killed just yet.

"You're not going to die. I'm not going to let this happen."

He'll think of something later.

For now, for these few seconds, he'll enjoy the warmth of Gwen's hand on his snout.


	16. Chapter 16

Merlin runs through the corridors. When he had left Gwen, he was only walking; but with the urgency of getting to the King and clearing Gwen's name, he sped up. He doesn't trip anyone, thankfully. Within a minute, he's at the doors to the council chambers.

The guards are startled by him when he suddenly rounds the corner, slightly raised on his hind legs to be able to stop himself and actually make the turn. They are confused as to how to react, which is the prominent reason for them falling on their butts. How else would they react? If a giant wolf looks like it's about to attack, logic dictates raising their spears and stabbing it. Fear says flea and hide in a corner and cry. Confusion says sit down and hope for the best.

But Merlin isn't thinking of any of that.

With the momentum he gains from pushing off his hind legs, he throws himself at the mighty doors. They give easily to him and he is grateful he doesn't have to use magic to assist in opening the doors.

"Well…" Merlin can hear Gaius start to say as the mighty wooden doors open wide.

Merlin lands on his paws, his claws digging into the stone floor. There is a rumble in his throat as he stalks towards the council table where everyone but Uther is seated. Some of them only seemed slightly startled by his sudden appearance, most are however, frozen in fear. One man actually jumps out of his seat and tumbles to the ground after he trips over his own cloak.

On Uther's face, there is a mixture of anger and genuine surprise.

Merlin stalks up to him, but stops a good few meters away from him. The guards in the room stand to attention. Swords and Spears drawn and at the ready. Out of the corner of his eye Merlin sees Arthur standing up as well. He doesn't draw his sword. Just stands up.

"What is the meaning of this Gaius?" Uther asks, still staring Merlin in the eye.

"I don't know, Sire," Gaius says as he stands up.

Well he'll know soon enough. Merlin opens his mouth, ready to give Uther a piece of his mind.

" _That wouldn't be very wise now would it, young warlock?"_

Kilgharrah's voice echoes around in his skull. Merlin pauses, his teeth still bared to the king; Even though he doesn't usually speak with his mouth, as it's more of a telepathic thing.

It's true, he really shouldn't speak. Gwen probably still won't be cleared and Uther just might say that she cast a spell on him that gave him the ability to speak like a man.

And he can't just leave his mission unaccomplished.

But… what can he do to make himself seem like a magical being without actually outing himself. He had all this time to think of something, but…

As usual he doesn't actually take the time to think of something. It's a bad habit that he needs to get fixed.

But now, he's standing in the middle of the council chamber surrounded by dire wolf killers and magic haters, mouth agape and mind blank.

" _Fuuuuuu- "_

Arthur was at first afraid that Merlin was going to indeed attack his father. But when the dire wolf, for some reason, paused as if he saw a ghost with his teeth somewhat bared, Arthur felt a sigh a relief build up in his chest. He quelled it.

He still doesn't have all the reason to be relaxing when Merlin still barged in here like a mad man… or dog – no, _wolf!_ God this is messing with his brain.

"Was he just possessed?"

Arthur hears some of the council members start to bicker about this sudden intrusion.

"I don't think he can be."

"Well he was affected by an enchantment."

"But that doesn't mean he can be possessed!"

"Well, why else would the wolf suddenly barge in here?!"

Arthur continues to stare at Merlin who seems like he's silently panicking.

" _Maybe he's just upset about Gwen's sentencing,"_ he thinks.

…

Merlin turns to look at him with wide eyes. Around him, the bickering has died down. Arthur looks around and notices that the whole room is looking at him; Some with raised eyebrows.

"While I am aware of Merlin's superior intelligence compared to that of a common dog," Uther says, forcing Arthur to look at his father. "I don't think he is capable of logically reasoning why someone is innocent."

It is then that Arthur realizes that he didn't actually think that, he said it.

Uther turns as if to order the guards to escort Merlin out, but one quick glance at Merlin's face and Arthur finds that he might actually have a good argument to plead Gwen's innocence.

"But Merlin can detect magic."

Uther turns back to him. Arthur can't completely read his expression.

"As Gaius said, he can smell magic and can track down magic. He can tell if someone is a sorcerer."

"But the enchantment messes with his senses."

"But I have tied rowan berries around his neck," Gaius chimes in. "They can protect him from symptoms of Foul Moon."

"And would it not also interfere with tracking magic?" Uther prompts.

Gaius shakes his head, but there is a sign of hesitance on his features.

"Not exactly, no."

"And could it be that he is still suffering, if only a little, from the symptoms of the disease?" Uther asks, not even bothering to look at Merlin.

For only a second, Arthur sees a brief look of stern disappointment cross the old physician's face; probably something about how Foul Moon might not actually be considered a disease. Arthur can't really figure it out because he hasn't finished the book yet, and the look is only for a brief second before Gaius resumes his default expression when speaking to Uther in the company of others.

"… only a little," Uther makes to say something, but Gaius continues. "But that does not change the fact that he can still discern a sorcerer from someone without any magic."

Uther pauses.

"Be that as it may, why does he decide to disrupt this meeting in the way that he has?"

Gaius opens his mouth, but nothing comes out. He closes his mouth, a look of confusion takes over, but a small part of Arthur thinks that it looks forced. As if Gaius might actually have an answer but doesn't want to say it.

Why would Gaius want to not share something that could clear Gwen's name?

"Perhaps he has grown attached to the girl?" someone suggests.

"He could be under a spell."

Arthur's heart stops for a whole second.

"While we have _somewhat_ established that enchantments are still affecting him, if only a little," Uther adds on quickly when Gaius gives him a look. "Would it be possible for him to be placed under a spell?"

Gaius stares down at the table for a few seconds, his fingers twitching. That's not good.

Gaius is one of the people who is very good at hiding things from others. Many times when a younger Arthur was hiding in Gaius's quarters from the rest of the world, he witnessed Gaius lie to people including the King as to the prince's whereabouts. He knows how good of a liar Gaius is, how good he is at playing off actions. He knows that there are times when even he himself can't tell if Gaius is telling the truth or is lying effortlessly, but now he can see him struggling. The others might think his action as him searching the recesses of his mind to see if he has the answer, but Arthur can see him now.

"I have… heard of a few cases," Gaius finally sighs.

"Guards."

The guards in the room once again raise their weapons. Merlin seems to jump a little, backing up with his fur raised. But he is not growling. He's in a defensive position but he seems to be keeping himself from coming off as threatening.

"Father, please!" Arthur finally decides to actually _step_ in. "I can't allow this! This is Madness!"

The guards hesitate. They have their orders from the King, but they can't raise their weapons towards their Prince. They look to Uther for further direction.

"Did you not hear him?" Uther raises his hand slightly to gesture towards Gaius.

"Yes–"

"He said that it is possible for Merlin to be under a spell."

"He saved my life, remember?" Arthur just barely manages to keep his voice at a respectable volume.

"Why should Gaius fabricate such a story?"

"He didn't say for sure that Merlin is under a spell!"

After all the moving around, Arthur finally bumps into Merlin. The dire wolf pushes against his leg. Not in a way as to really _push_ him, more as a reassurance, or protection. When he spares a quick glance down at Merlin, he can see the beast eyeing one of the guards who still has his spear pointed at the pair. Arthur gives said guard a glare which seems to be enough to get the man to lower his spear… only a little at least, so that it's pointed at the floor.

"But if he has been so close to the girl, do you not think that she could have placed a spell on him after all this time?"

"Well, if she had become attached to him, she wouldn't make him suffer, would she?"

"We are discussing Merlin caring about Guinevere, not the other way around," his father states in his Kingly voice. "She could have even made him suffer just to throw suspicion off of the two of them. There is also the possibility that she has just now sent him to attack us."

Merlin lets out some sort of sound. It almost sounds like he's groaning in disappointment. Probably tired of this conversation running around in circles. Wait, no, dog – no wolves – don't think. God Arthur's head is mush.

"He's not attacking is he though?"

"Then why would he storm in here the way he did?!" Uther roars.

Everyone seems to shrink from the voice of the King. No doubt, even Uther is tired of all this and just wants to get back to business. Arthur remains frozen for a minute. Merlin stuck to the floor next to him.

"Because… he… is…"

Uther waits patiently. As patient as a King can be while running a disease stricken kingdom and having to deal with so many interruptions and tail chasing – and as it seems to everyone, Merlin is the only one not chasing his own tail.

Arthur needs to think of something.

Think.

Think.

Think.

"A dumb dog."

That was lame.

Merlin lifts his head, his ears slightly tilted to the side and lowered, his teeth slightly bared. There is a questionable sound that escapes the dire wolf's throat… it also sounds like he is asking a question.

Arthur looks down at him and levels him with a slight glare.

"Well it's true."

Merlin stops growling but his ears lay back and his eyes narrow. Arthur isn't good at understanding wolf body language, but he would have to say that Merlin is giving him the "are you serious?" look.

Uther chuckles, which causes Arthur to look up at his father. Around them, other council members start snickering as well, except Gaius.

Arthur relaxes. They seem to be believing him, which is good for Merlin.

"Merlin is a wonder," Arthur continues, keeping it up to ensure his father lets this go. "But the wonder is that he's such an _idiot_."

Arthur rests his hand on Merlin's head and as he emphasizes 'idiot', he pushes the dire wolf's head downward. Merlin's head only slightly budges. Merlin shakes off Arthur's hand and makes a snapping motion with his jaw in a threat to bite him. Arthur is only a slight bit cautious now.

Can't say for sure that Merlin _won't_ bite him.

Uther seems to finally settle down, resuming the stance of a mighty King.

"Gaius," he says in an even tone.

"Yes, Sire?"

"See to it that Merlin doesn't waste my time any more today."

"Yes, Sire."

Arthur steps out of Gaius' way as the physician walks over to the dire wolf. Merlin gives the prince one more defiant huff before trotting away to the door, not really even waiting for Gaius to catch up.

The two leave and all seems quiet for a while as the doors close.

"Now," Uther says. "Back to the matter at hand."

Merlin grumbles for the umpteenth time.

"Arthur was right to do what he did," Gaius states as he opens the door to the water cavern. "And thankfully, he saved you from your own stupidity."

Merlin huffs.

"Stop that. Of the two of us, it should be me that is upset with the whole situation."

"And you're not already upset?" Merlin asks once the door is closed behind them.

They are away from prying ears. With the confirmation that the sickness is being spread through the water supply, their only way of proving Gwen's innocence is to check the source of the water supply. If something else lucks in the water, be it magical or not, then it can spare Gwen from execution. While it is unlikely, considering Uther's view on magic, the King might be willing to see the reasoning that someone snuck into Gwen's house to heal Tom. At least this way, they can – and will – prove that Gwen isn't the one responsible for this plague.

"I am _disappointed._ " Gaius corrects.

"Well what else could I do?" Merlin somehow manages to keep his voice down as they walk down the steps. "It's my fault Gwen's going to die!"

"Yes, but you don't prove her innocence by jumping into a room and standing like a stag caught in the archer's range! You do it by finding out what's causing the disease! Which is why we're down here."

Merlin scoffs. Gaius turns to level him with a glare. Merlin averts his gaze.

"Well whatever it is," he says as they make a turn. "One thing's for sure: Arthur isn't going to find it. He thinks he's sharp!"

"Well he's definitely sharper than you. That's been proven."

Now it's Merlin's turn to glare at Gaius.

"Well I can't just go and say 'hey, I can talk and I'm a warlock. Please kill me instead of Gwen.'"

"Well I'm glad I don't have to get that though your thick skull."

Merlin's glare hardens.

"Thanks, it helps protect me from attacks."

"And common sense, it would seem."

The glare hardens even more. If Merlin were to put magic into the glare, he just might be able to literally bore a hole into the physician's head.

"Didn't you just say that it's good that I know not to actually speak and prove my magic abilities?"

Another turn and now they're in a more spacious area that is very damp and reeking of magic. Merlin does not yet notice though.

"I did, because it is rare for you to show such intelligence," Gaius says as he turns to grin mischievously at Merlin.

" _Oh… so it's like that, huh?"_

Merlin makes to retort, but Gaius reaches into his satchel and pulls out an empty vial and extension rod with which to hold the vial in. He nods his head to his left and when Merlin looks, he sees a giant pool of water.

"The water from here supplies the whole town," Gaius informs him.

Merlin's nose twitches and a full body shiver runs through him.

"It reeks of magic."

"I feared so."

Gaius fits the vial to the extension. He offers the far end of the extension to Merlin.

"Take a sample."

Merlin takes the extension in his jaw. He walks up onto a step to get closer to the pool. With the added height, he has a better view of the water. It's dark in the cave, which should come off as creepy to him. Not saying that it's not, but Merlin has been in many situations that can easily be considered creepy.

While it would normally seem cruel to have Merlin do this when he could easily suffer from a stronger wave of Foul Moon, with the rowan berries, he is safe. And now that he is better off, he can do a better job at identifying the magic.

He dips the vial in the water.

Through the extension, he can feel the flow of magic. Blue, green and colors in between caress his vision. Not his actual sight, just… it's hard to explain.

It's a magical vision. He can feel it too. It's… cold.

Sadness.

Anger.

 _Regret._

It's hard to tell, but there is emotion surrounding it all. He would almost think it beautiful.

There is movement under the water. He can't really see it and plays it off as his mind and eyes playing tricks on him. Paranoia is not something new to him, or any dire wolf at that.

Merlin feels a tap on his haunches. When looks to the side, he sees Gaius looking at him expectantly. Merlin thinks he sees a bit of worry in those old eyes. He wouldn't doubt it if Gaius was worried, but of what, Merlin doesn't know.

He turns his head and raises the vial. He walks backwards, cautious with his steps. With a cloth over his hands, Gaius grabs the vial and corks it. He removes it from the extension. And carefully places the vial in his satchel. Next, he grabs the extension from Merlin's jaw. As soon as it leaves his mouth, the colors and sensations leave.

Now he's just in a cold room. It… hurts – no, it's uncomfortable. The coldness isn't the same, but what he felt when the extension touched the water was… better.

That's actually probably not a good thing.

Gaius struggles a little when putting the extension back in his satchel.

"Let's take it back and examine it."

The water ripples.

" _It's just my imagination."_

"I am also curious about the magic signature that you –"

The water splashes violently. There is an unnatural roar of a beast. A beast that – even with his advanced sight – Merlin can't see. Water cascades off the side of the barrier.

Gaius stumbles backwards in terror. Merlin, at first, steps back as well; but with the chance of Gaius being attacked he tries to get between Gaius and the monster.

Emphasis on _tries_.

A drop – or more – of the water lands on his fur. Everything goes haywire. His vision explodes with color. His skin feels so cold that it burns and his feet feel like they're standing on needles. His hearing is lost to an insistent clanging of imaginary bells and clacking of horse hooves from above. He stops himself from letting out a pathetic whimper; instead growling. He tries to show that he won't back down. But with his senses in such a mess, he's sure he won't do much.

He feels something grab his scarf. He twists to bite at whatever is tugging at him.

"– lin!"

Crap! He almost bit Gaius' face off!

Gaius makes to drag him away and Merlin has no choice but to follow. Within seconds, the effects of the water have worn off. With his paws back under him and under his control, Merlin moves faster. Now he's the one who's just about dragging Gaius.

"What the hell was that?!" Merlin howls.

Gaius looks back cautiously. They have arrived at the stairs, so Merlin allows Gaius up first.

The old physician doesn't answer his question… just yet.

The pages rustle. Gaius is careful with them, but he knows that he can't be too slow. He needs the answer just as much as Merlin does. The dire wolf watches over his shoulder, staring intensely at the book on the table. Gaius almost misses the page he's looking for, in such a rush that he only catches a glimpse of the familiar drawing. Turning back the to the appropriate page, Gaius lets out a triumphant exhale of breath.

"Here," he exclaims, but Merlin's sharp gaze is already taking in the not so pretty depiction of the beast on the page. "It was an Afanc."

"An… a _what_?"

Looking over at Merlin, Gaius can see that there is still a slight glaze over his azure eyes. Not good. Gaius doesn't know what is worse; a Merlin suffering from Foul Moon, or a Merlin falling into his primitive impulses. While it is a good thing that Merlin is protecting people that he is becoming attached to, there is a great danger to a dire wolf being overprotective. And _Alpha_ dire wolf at that. Even Omega dire wolves, while much more docile, are still big, powerful and defensive creatures.

Dire wolves are not to be messed with.

While many nobles and hunters had been successful in killing dire wolves, their hunts weren't without sacrifices. Gaius had just about lost his mind when he first heard of _12 year old_ Arthur being taken out to hunt dire wolves.

But back to the matter at hand…

"A beast born of clay, and conjured up only by the most powerful sorcerer."

He looks into Merlin's eyes, watching the color swim in his shaded eyes.

"I thought we already established that I didn't do this?" Merlin says, almost accusingly.

"We did, and you are innocent."

He closes the book and walks up to his book shelves, looking for a new particular book.

" _One would think that the explanation for how to defeat an Afanc would be in the same book that describes it."_

"But now we know that this a powerful sorcerer at work…"

" _It can't be_ _ **her**_ _… could it?"_

"And if Gwen was a powerful sorceress, no matter how good she is at hiding her power, you would know."

"I know she's innocent."

Gaius looks behind him at Merlin. The light coming through the window hits his fur just right that a large yellow square highlights a large portion of his body. The rest is pitch black, the intensity of the light creating a stark contrast to the rest of him, tricking the eye. Gaius can only see the intensity of his animalistic eyes from the reflection of the Sun.

He's sinking deeper. Just the slightest touch in the wrong direction and someone's neck will be in the jaws of this dire wolf.

"I know," He turns back to his shelves, ignoring the slight pick-up in the beating of his heart. "Now we have to find a way to defeat it."

He reads over the spines of the books before him.

"But where?" He mumbles under his breath.

"That could take days! Gwen will be dead by then," Merlin growls behind him.

Gaius knows Merlin well enough to know that that growl isn't meant to be threatening, it's just Merlin expressing his frustration in general. With most of Merlin's speaking abilities being through a magical mind communication technique, his mouth and throat often make more wolfish sounds to accommodate, as it is confusing to his body. Talking, but not through his vocal chords.

"Have you got a better idea?"

It takes approximately five seconds for Gaius to regret those words. He feels a slight wave of magic behind him. Merlin grumbles something. Gaius is just turning around to tell Merlin not to do anything stupid when the door to his quarters slam shut.

Gaius sighs. At least the door hasn't broken off its hinges from the force of the slam. It wouldn't do good to have the physician's door broken.

Instead of trying to catch up to Merlin – he's no runner as it is and he could only ever hope to catch up with a dire wolf – Gaius checks, double and triple checks every spine and first few pages of all his books. He finds no luck in his search for defeating an Afanc. He curses himself for not having such a book, but reminds himself that the chances of being attacked by an Afanc are close to none. Gaius would've felt a great honor for encountering such a rare creature in his lifetime if it wasn't for the creature in question's purpose and the situation at hand.

Seeing how he has no such luck here, he decides to deliver some of the medications needed by some in the castle. Mostly relaxing potions, for those terrified stiff by the thought of falling victim to this disease. After his third descent down some stairs does he wish that Merlin could help him out. This is part of his job after all.

Despite the long walk that took him almost throughout half the castle, Gaius still finds that he is not yet tired as he walks down the corridor towards his chambers. The adrenaline and fear that Gwen will be put to death soon – and in such a long and torturous way – hiding the ache in his old bones.

But it still surprises him to walk into his room to see books floating throughout workspace; a warm golden magic holding them up and turning their pages.

Once he settles down enough to stop staring in wonder at the sight he has just walked into, he closes the door – remembering that someone could walk by and see this. His eyes finally land on the black wolf among it all, eyes glowing in the same gold. Gaze fierce and unwavering.

"Merlin," Gaius can't decide if he should raise his voice to ensure that the wolf in question hears him, or quiet, so that no one comes running in. "What are you doing?"

"Looking for a book."

Gaius bites back a retort for how obvious that statement is. Now is not the time.

"You going to tell me which one?" Gaius raises an eyebrow, even though Merlin is still looking through the books, not meeting his interrogative gaze.

"A book on elements."

Gaius pause for a second. His mind repeats Merlin's words over again a few times. He can't decide if he should focus more on the content of Merlin's words or how short and direct he is with what he's saying. He is becoming dangerously instinctual – his mind wants to correct him on that with the fact that there are a dozen or so books floating in the air – and that is dangerous.

"Elements?" he finally gets out.

"Yes," Merlin's gaze switches to a new book that hovers closer to him, the previous one floating away. "Which one would I find them in?"

Gaius should probably be upset that Merlin is acting disrespectful to not only someone much older than him, but also his caretaker and mentor. But that is a lecture for another time.

"Well… most of them, really."

Gaius looks around the room. He moves further in and plucks a few books out of the air, looking them over. When he grabs at them, he feels the slight comfort of the magic that holds them up. It's… warm. Just the right comforting temperature. So when the magic fades with Merlin dropping the magic from the individual books that Gaius plucks out of the air, Gaius secretly misses it.

"The study of base elements is at the very heart of scientific process," he says absentmindedly.

" _Oh, I forgot about this one. It was a good read… Maybe I'll read through it again. at a later time."_

"But how would they help me kill the Afanc?"

Still not looking at Gaius.

"Well," Gaius muses, thinking it over. "The Afanc is a creature made from… earth and water. That's two of the four base elements."

Gaius keeps going around collecting the books that he knows Merlin is done with. After watching Merlin for a while, he noticed that whenever he moved to a new book, it comes from his left. There are a bunch of books floating off to his left, so Gaius takes it that those are the ones that Merlin hasn't looked at yet. He collects the ones from Merlin's right. He doesn't want Merlin to suddenly drop all of his books.

That would be upsetting.

"What about the other two?"

Gaius is a little pleased that at least now, Merlin's head is tilted more towards him. So even though Merlin is still staring intensely at the pages in front of him, he is starting to pay more attention to Gaius.

"Perhaps they will destroy it."

Gaius sets many of the books down on his work bench, then he continues to pluck more books out of the air.

"You want fire," he says it just as the thought comes to him. "Wind and fire… How did you find this out?"

With the revelation of where to focus his intention, Merlin allows the remaining books to float down gently to the work bench – Gaius mentally sighs in relief at that. But when Gaius asks his question, the dire wolf slightly falters. The books that were still only inches from the table landing a bit harshly with the sudden cut off of magic.

"Erm… Well, uh…"

As Merlin stumbles out words, Gaius' interrogative brow raises once again.

"… I- I just knew, you know? One of my powers," he adds, puffing out his chest in mock pride.

The brow remains in its place of honor.

"What else do your _powers_ tell you?"

Merlin looks about the room, trying to remain as proud as he's making out to be, but Gaius can see the sheepish twitch of his tail as it lowers.

"That I am only one side of a coin," Merlin looks back at Gaius, this time with a wide wolfish grin. "The brighter side, Obviously."

Gaius scoffs.

"And who's the other side?" Gaius asks as he sets the last of his books down.

"I think it might be Arthur."

Now Gaius really looks at Merlin. Now he is absolutely certain this is something that Merlin is not making up. While it is weird enough that he would make such a poetic comment with the use of two sides of a coin, it's odd that Merlin would willingly put himself on the same coin as Arthur.

Sure they are a destined pair and get along just fine when everything is more mellow, but Merlin has made it very clear that he doesn't enjoy Arthur's company… _that much._

Gaius wants to say more, perhaps talk more on these odd things that Merlin's _powers_ are telling him, but the wolf's ears suddenly prick up and his tail raises.

Someone is at the door.

In the next moment, an angry Morgana is forcing the door open without a care for the hinges holding it in place. It still remains attached and whole.

" _It won't be for long if everyone keeps slamming it open and closed like this,"_ Gaius thinks bitterly.

"They're bringing forward the execution," she hisses. "We have to prove Gwen's innocence!"

"We're trying," Gaius immediately replies.

Morgana looks between Gaius and Merlin a hopeful look is in her eyes as she looks Merlin over. Undoubtedly, she believed the dire wolf to be Gwen's best defense. But Uther is stubborn. He will not hear it no matter how great and reasonable a defense it is.

"Please," she barely raises her hands up to show the helplessness that she feels. "Just… tell me what I can do to help."

Gaius looks to Merlin. The dire wolf glances at him then looks back over the books. They know what is needed to be done and who is needed to help them. Gaius is no mind reader, but he can tell how much Merlin wants to throw caution to the wind and just blurt out his plan to Morgana, regardless of the fact that Morgana does not know of Merlin's capability to speak.

"There has to be something we can do," Morgana whispers, but Gaius can still hear it.

"There… is something," Gaius finally says.

Morgana turns to him. There is a sparkle of hope that glitters in her eyes. She takes a hesitant step towards Gaius. He's sure she wasn't even meaning to take a step forward, she is probably just happy to hear a possibility of good news.

"Well, what is it?" she prompts.

"Well… we'll," Gaius stumbles over his words a bit trying to find the right way to explain the plan.

This is one of the rare times that Gaius actually wishes Merlin would speak freely; but the dire wolf is dutifully keeping his mouth shut.

"to begin with," Gaius finds some sort of lead. "We need Arthur."

Looking at Merlin, Gaius can see that he agrees. They need a fighter, someone with a sword… And who can wield a torch without setting their fur on fire accidentally. Besides, it would be more convincing and would give them better leverage to sway Uther's sentencing if the crown prince himself provides solid evidence.

Morgana on the other hand, pauses and stares at Gaius as if he suddenly grew donkey ears out of the top of his head.

"A-Arthur?" she finally stutters out.

"Yes."

She blinks a few times, looking around the room and at Merlin, who nods in agreement when Morgana's eyes meet his.

Everybody already knows at this point that Merlin actually understands what people say.

"Why on _Earth_ do we need Arthur!?"

Merlin's ears swivel back a little from the outburst.

"There's an Afanc in the water supply. That's what's causing the plague," Gaius finally informs her.

"Well… we must tell Uther."

She looks him in the eye, that stubborn furrow of her brows takes over.

Gaius internally sighs.

This is why he was reluctant to tell Morgana.

"The Afanc's a creature forged by magic," Gaius says in the flattest tone he can manage, careful not to let his worry seep through. "Telling Uther won't save Gwen. He'd just blame her for conjuring it."

The realization settles over her pretty features. Gaius doesn't want to do this to her. There is no debating that Morgana is their best hope of actually convincing Arthur to take part in this. But that means she'll have to keep this a secret. She'll have to keep her lips sealed about the truth of the monster's conjuring. Even if none of them know – or Gaius hopes he doesn't know – who created this creature, at least they know for certain that Gwen isn't the monster's creator. If she felt it necessary, she could be honest with Arthur about it, but there is no guaranteeing that Arthur won't come to the same conclusion as Uther would if he was informed.

Gaius doesn't doubt Morgana's ability to keep a secret, it is a skill that ladies – especially in higher stature – are surprising good at. It is the idea that he is the one responsible for making her keep this secret.

Gaius knows that he will still have to be the one to tell Uther eventually of the beast's conjuring, but hopefully with the shell and the marks of the sorcerer on it to sway Uther's judgement.

Morgana seems to think it over for a few seconds. She probably is also thinking of the same thing as Gaius – of how she'll have to keep this a secret.

She looks back up into Gaius' aged eyes.

"So what are we to do?"

Arthur is open to having company, but he prefers it if his guests have a formal invite into his chambers. Or you know… actually ask him if they can go in. It's weird having people – aside from Liam who is his manservant – in his chambers so there is that awkwardness to inviting them in when they ask, but he has to say that it is even worse when he walks into his own chambers and finds someone _waiting_ for him. Especially a woman.

And that woman happens to be Morgana.

"You alright?" Arthur asks after a seemingly long pause.

He knows that Liam isn't the one responsible for letting her in. Even if Liam is his personal manservant, Uther has asked – read: ordered – him to help with setting up the pyre in which Gwen is to be burned upon.

Arthur will have to remember to find Liam a peaceful distraction when this all over. Liam doesn't like executions, especially the more torturous ones such as burning people at the stake. Undoubtedly, Liam's hands will be covered in splinters and his nail chipped.

"Sorry about the mess," Arthur says, gesturing to his very messy table. "Liam's not been in today."

He decides to leave out where Liam is.

"Poor Liam," Morgana finally says.

Whelp, looks like she already knows anyway. Arthur sighs.

"Yeah."

They both know how badly Liam will be shaking after all of this, but Arthur can tell that it isn't Liam that Morgana is for.

"Is there…" Arthur tries to get the point, but doesn't know if this will be a delicate situation or not. "Any reason that you are here?... besides wondering how Liam is doing."

"I was hoping to find a man big enough to fill out his armor for a task at hand."

There is a smirk on her face. She's definitely challenging him, trying to get him riled up for whatever this task is. The mischievousness of the smirk doesn't quite reach her eyes, but Arthur supposes that has to do with her maidservant – and as it would seem, her best friend – is soon to be burned at the stake.

Luckily for her then, the crown prince can't turn down a challenge.

Arthur smirks back at her.

"What do you want me to do?"

 **Time skip**

As it turns out, she wants him to kill a monster that is lurking in the water supply. With Uther being as stubborn as he is, he wouldn't believe it wasn't Gwen unless the remnants of the monster's shell are found. Apparently, Gaius hadn't told Morgana how the shell will clear Gwen's name, but he had been very certain that it would. Gaius had made the discovery when he took Merlin down to the water supply to get a better sample.

Speaking of the dire wolf, Merlin needs to learn how to not look so _creepy_. The Sun isn't set yet but still, he looks like a shadow with pale eyes where he stands. From his jaw hangs the keys to the water supply tunnels. He is just sitting there, but the way he turns his head to look at the two of them approaching sends chills down Arthur's spine. If he already didn't know that Merlin was waiting for them, he'd probably think that Merlin is the Barghest from the old stories he was told. The remaining light of the sun doesn't completely outline or even really reveal Merlin's form. It doesn't help that the dire wolf is sitting in a more shadowy place, covered by the stone work.

Arthur is glad that it is Merlin and not the Barghest, especially with what the Barghest is associated with.

Not like Arthur is going to tell anyone this.

They approach and when they reach the door to the tunnels, Arthur cautiously plucks the keys from Merlin's jaws, ignoring the slight trembling of his hands as they near the literal jaws of a beast. There is a heavy tension that surrounds Merlin, but Arthur only really notices when he has removed the keys from his jaw.

He makes quick work of opening the door. As he swings the door open, Merlin forcibly slips in, nudging Arthur's leg harshly. Arthur would say a few choice words if it weren't for the urgency of this task.

Arthur convinces himself that that is the only reason, and definitely not because he's afraid of Merlin right now.

Merlin takes off down the uneven stone steps, not needing the assistance of light to guide him. There is a waft of cold stale air that prickles at Arthur's face when he opens the door. The smell is damp, but not quite overwhelming. There is a torch right by the door and another further down the stair case.

Arthur has to look away from the one further down because when Merlin passes it, the light causes his large, terrifying shadow to swallow a majority of the narrow passage. It is a small instance in which darkness takes over, as if that is all that there is in this cold stair case and cavern. Even the torch at his side doesn't seem bright enough.

Then the light returns. Merlin disappears.

Choosing not to focus on the darkness, Arthur grabs the torch, looking back at Morgana. Perhaps she had the same feeling about those terrifying few seconds, maybe she didn't. There is a slight nervous sweat on her brow, but she otherwise appears determined. She meets his gaze and gives him a nod. He returns it.

They slowly make their way down the stairs, following the dire wolf.

Since it would be better if they had two torches, as Gaius had said that the Afanc can be defeated by fire, they agree that Morgana will also grab a torch. They stop by the one at the bottom of the stairs, but decide that it would be best to leave that one in case anyone else comes down here or – if Merlin abandons them – so that they can find their way back. While they are standing at the bottom of the stairs trying to figure out which way the water pool is, Merlin nearly gives them a heart attack when he pops out of nowhere – actually he came from around a corner to the right – and trots up to them.

He circles them once for what Arthur assumes and hopes is only supposed to be a reassuring gesture before he goes back the way he came, albeit at a slower pace. Arthur and Morgana glance at each other, then walk after him, Morgana grabbing a different torch along the way.

They proceed deeper and deeper into the water cavern. It seems like they are walking for hours, but Arthur knows that it is an illusion of time caused by apprehension.

"You better be right about this, Gaius," Arthur whispers under his breath.

The two humans wave their torches from side to side, looking for any sign of the monster.

There is a low growl that echoes around them. Merlin stops dead in his tracks and stands so still that for a second, he thinks Merlin has been turned to stone. His black tail raises till it is level with his body, his ears pointed forward from what Arthur can see.

Morgana gasps and Arthur draws his sword. While he can't use both hands on his sword, he still has had a lot of practice with single handed sword combat. They stay still for a while. When they hear nothing else, Arthur turns his head so that he can see Morgana out of the corner of his eye, but keeps his gaze on the tunnels ahead.

"You should stay here," he tells her.

"I'm coming with you," is her immediate hushed reply.

"No."

Merlin let's out a very low groan and his stance slightly lowers. Arthur takes that as the dire wolf knowing of the argument that's about to follow and him not wanting to hear it.

"Scared I'll show you up?"

Arthur finally turns to face Morgana who is giving him a cheeky grin. He trusts Merlin to alert him in some form if the beast approaches.

"Father will slam us both in chains if he knew I'd endangered you."

To be fair, Arthur knows that Morgana came here on her own will and would probably just sneak around on her own if she wasn't at his side. But he is still a man, and the prince at that, and she is a lady – so it is the right and most appropriate thing to do to send her away.

"Well," she says, standing straighter in a challenging and prideful way. "Good thing he doesn't know about it then."

" _So it's going to be like that, huh?"_

They both know that Arthur won't dare tell his father that Morgana came down here to search for a monster, and not just because of her being in danger.

"I'm telling you, Morgana," he tries to pull off a stern voice like that of his father's. "turn back. You could get hurt."

If the torch wasn't as heavy as it is – requiring two hands for her – Arthur's sure Morgana would either put her hands on her hips or cross her arms to accompany that stupid smirk she puts on.

"You could too... if you don't get out of my way."

He hears Merlin let out a noise that sounds suspiciously like a chuckle. But animals don't chuckle.

Arthur rolls his eyes.

After a moment in which they let the light attitude wash back into a more serious tone, Arthur starts looking at all the different tunnels that surround them, looking for any signs of the Afanc. Merlin's ears are swiveling every which way, occasionally twitching with a grimace – or what Arthur considers a grimace – appearing on Merlin's wolfish features. Distantly, the prince can hear the drip of water drops falling into the water pool. He can only imagine what it's like for Merlin with his advanced hearing. Either the monster is extremely quiet, or the other sounds – however few they are – are too much for him.

Something dark flickers in the corner of his eyes. He looks towards it. Morgana is starting to walk over to Merlin.

"Stop," he says, putting his arm with the sword slightly in front of her.

"What?"

All is silent for a while. Arthur looks to one of the tunnels that is illuminated by a torch that he cannot see, Morgan looking at him; And Merlin… well, Arthur doesn't know what Merlin is looking at. Nothing happens and Arthur doesn't see anything else. The dark flicker that he thinks he saw appears to only be the result of the cold draft swaying the torch from around the corner.

That's what Arthur tells himself.

"It's just a shadow," he finally says.

Before Morgana can ask what shadow, Arthur continues walking forward. His movements prompt Morgana to follow him. Merlin, upon hearing the humans starting to walk again, also moves forward.

After what feels like more eerie and suspension filled hours, they reach the water pool, the source of the Camelot's water. Arthur was almost expecting, and honestly, kind of hoping that the Afanc thing would just be sitting right in front of the pool, waiting to be killed. But rarely are things that easy. Looking around, there are a few tunnels connecting to the source.

" _Just great,"_ Arthur thinks.

If the Afanc doesn't make itself known, they will have to split up. And that is _not_ a good idea. Arthur looks at Merlin, who is staring down a tunnel, but his ears keep twisting to listen down a different tunnel. So there are two possible directions that the Afanc could be wandering in.

"Morgana, you go with Merlin down that tunnel," he nods to the tunnel that he is talking about – the one that Merlin is staring at. "I'll go down this one."

If Merlin is hearing more sounds down the one Arthur is deciding to go into, then the monster thing is more likely that way. Thankfully, neither woman nor dire wolf ask any questions – even though only one of them is capable of actually talking.

Arthur keeps a steady stance as he walks slowly down the tunnel, ready for the Afanc to attack from any direction. He keeps his ears tuned towards the tunnel in which Merlin and Morgana walked down.

He walks further into the tunnel, looking down the connecting tunnels.

One more step.

He hears it, a deep rumpling with choked sounding chirps in between. It gets louder in a span of only a few seconds. Arthur is fortunate that his reflexes are as good as they are as when he whirls around to slash at the beast, he manages to dodge an impossibly quick swipe of the beast's hideous claws. Arthur twists his sword, keeping his wrist locked, then he aims a downward slash at the beast's head…

But it gone.

He stares at the place where it just was, glancing around at his surroundings as if the monster might be circling him to attack from behind him again.

There is a thumping on the ground behind him with a deeper growl.

Arthur twists around swinging his sword to cut the monster's head clean off and almost… cuts _Merlin's_ head right off. Merlin's reflexes are also "pretty fair" as he ducks so that the blade just barely misses the ends of his fur.

"Merlin!" Arthur says louder than he'd planned.

Merlin looks up and meets his eyes, giving him a glare. Morgana is following him behind.

"Good lord, Merlin!" Arthur huffs, showing a second of vulnerability as he lowers his sword. "I nearly cut your head off!"

Merlin does not look happy. But, Arthur internally defends himself by saying that Merlin is the one at fault for sneaking up on him when he had just been fighting a monster around the same height as the dire wolf.

"Are you alright?" Morgana asks, appearing very worried as she looks Arthur over.

"Yeah," Arthur sighs, raising his sword again.

"Did you see it?" She asks in a quiet voice.

Arthur hesitates, resuming his look over of their surroundings.

"… Yes."

They all look around, Merlin's ears swiveling like crazy. After a few seconds, Merlin goes stiff and his head turns around so quick, Arthur is pretty sure he got whiplash. Arthur is just turning around himself when he hears Morgana scream.

Morgana has enough sense to back up some, giving Arthur the room he needs in that quick second to lung at the beast. But just like before, it disappears.

"Where is it?"

Arthur is tired of this cat and mouse game, he wants this beast dead.

Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Merlin start creeping in a new direction. Arthur knows that he must follow him. He looks over his shoulder at Morgana, checking to see how she's holding up. She is pale, but still standing, and that stubborn furrow of her brow remains.

She nods at him and they walk after their canine companion.

They catch up to Merlin, following him closely. After an indeterminable amount of time, Merlin halts, his body falling into a low crouch.

The attack is so sudden and because the beast came from around the corner, Arthur's swipe at the monster is unsuccessful.

Unsuccessful in the way that his sword is ripped from his hand. The monster disappears again. A second later, Morgana lets out a short scream as her torch is flung from her weak grip. Both weapons clatter to the ground a distance away. Too far for them to go after the objects without the beast getting another swipe at them.

Arthur pulls Morgana into the center of the connecting tunnels, where they can prepare for an attack at all sides.

There is a growl from one of the tunnels and Merlin takes off after it. Arthur remains where he is. Merlin's chase proves fruitless as the beast appears before the two humans.

" _Fire can defeat it."_

With that reminder, Arthur starts swinging his torch around like a sword. The beast backs up. It is still bold as it does not retreat. Arthur has to get the flames to touch the monster, but no matter what, it avoids his swings.

Then he hears something weird. It sounds like… words. But they don't sound like any words he knows.

At first, he thinks that Morgana is yelling something, but Morgana doesn't have a masculine voice.

Suddenly, a mighty wind roars through the cavern. The flames of Arthur's torch enlarge, swallowing the monster and it's hideous cries of pain as it is incinerated into a pile of ash.

Arthur turns around just in time to see a warm gold glow dissipate from Merlin's eyes.

Time seems to freeze. Morgana herself is stood frozen at Arthur's side.

"You…" Morgana starts.

Merlin himself seems to realize something, flinching where he stands.

"You spoke…"

Arthur finally lets out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.

Merlin's ears fall flat on his head, and his stance falters as he takes hesitant steps back. Arthur considers the dire wolf for a moment, his thoughts racing. He had heard someone speaking, and those words that had been spoken…

The torch light flickers to its previous luminosity.

"You used magic."


	17. Chapter 17

It is quiet in the physician's quarters. Neither prince nor dire wolf say anything. Arthur is standing by the door, his sword against the wall next to him. Merlin is on the floor, on the far opposite side of the room, head down on the floor. While Arthur stares intensely at him, Merlin can't bring himself to make eye contact or even look in his general direction.

He's surprised yet thankful that Arthur didn't kill him on the spot. Arthur isn't his father, that's for sure, but as far as Merlin knows, Arthur doesn't have any reason to believe Merlin shouldn't be executed. While Arthur seems to base a person's judgement more on how they used their magic – for good or for evil – Merlin doubts that any of the people he defended actually got out alive.

Except Gwen.

None of them know exactly how the egg shell and it's markings will clear Gwen's name, but Gaius had seemed convinced that that piece of evidence is what they need. He didn't explain it to any of them. He had seemed pretty keen on leaving his chambers as soon as possible.

While Merlin would like to say that it was all because he wanted to clear Gwen's name as soon as possible before it's too late, he's willing to bet that at least some of it was because he didn't want to stay in the tense atmosphere for much longer.

He'll have to return later, to help explain it all to Arthur and Morgana.

That's right, Morgana. She went to go get Tom with the news that his daughter _will_ – although there is still a slight chance that Uther won't be swayed – be set free. That left Arthur and Merlin alone.

And now Arthur and Morgana know that Gwen and Gaius know.

Merlin kind of wants to try an ice breaker, maybe cut this tense silence with some light chatter, but every attempt dies on his tongue. Every time Arthur moves in the slightest, Merlin fears he's about to pick up his sword and behead Merlin right then there.

But he doesn't.

The tension only thickens.

While Merlin hopes that Arthur will be willing to let him stay here, believing that the prince won't go to his father, there is still a possibility that Arthur will banish him. Arthur probably doesn't even have that power, but he might find a way. It's just hard for Merlin to imagine Arthur keeping such a big secret from his father, the King.

The King who hates magic.

Merlin can only imagine how hard this all is on Arthur.

"Why didn't you run away?"

Merlin refuses to meet Arthur's gaze, but he still tenses when the prince suddenly asks that.

"You could have fled," Arthur continues. "You could've left, before…"

Merlin doesn't know how Arthur wants to end that sentence, but he's pretty sure that Arthur doesn't either.

"It would make me look guilty, wouldn't it?"

Merlin notices that his voice is a pitch deeper than how it usually sounds.

"Gaius said that the monster was conjured by an ancient sorcerer… He said that it couldn't have been you."

"You don't sound completely convinced."

There is a long painful pause, and for the first time in what feels like an hour, Merlin looks at Arthur. Arthur doesn't look afraid. He's not pale, not shaking; Merlin can't see nor smell a nervous sweat on him. There is still hesitation, that much Merlin can tell.

Arthur is confused.

"I do believe him," Arthur whispers, looking down and clearing his throat.

He reaches down as if to adjust his sword – even though it's not necessary – but seems to think that it might come off as him going to grab it. He immediately retracts his hand, looking at the door.

No one's coming just yet, Merlin doesn't hear any approaching footsteps.

Merlin doesn't say anything. He believes Arthur is telling the truth… but not completely. Again, he senses hesitance from the prince. That doesn't necessarily mean that Arthur is being hesitant with him, but with the whole situation. Arthur wants to believe Gaius, but he is struggling because of his father's view, which Merlin knows has been pressed on him since the prince's early childhood.

"But even if you aren't the one who started this plague, creating that… the… the _thing_!" Arthur gestures to nothing in particular, his hands making jagged circular motions. "I can't know for sure if you are completely… good."

Merlin sighs.

He doesn't have any bad intentions to either the King or the prince, or really anyone – _at all_. But he can't just say that. Even if it's true, Arthur and even Merlin himself can't know for sure that he won't do something that would make him _bad_.

"No one is ever truly good," Merlin finds himself saying. "We all have a dark side, most of us are just better at keeping it contained. And even for those that do the deepest of wrongs… as hard as it is to say… they have some good in them too."

Hearing it in his own voice, Merlin finds the words sounding… weird. The Elder Pack always had more speech worthy voices. The power in their howls as they spoke those words to a young Merlin… It was powerful.

"You sound like Gaius," Arthur chuckles.

…

" _Chuckles?"_

Merlin looks at Arthur again, not remembering when he looked away. There is a smile on the prince's face, a real one that appears when he reminisces fond memories. Arthur must notice the look of confusion on Merlin's wolfish features, or at least, notice him staring. The smile quickly disappears and Arthur clears his throat, raising a fist to his mouth to disguise it as a cough. Merlin doesn't say anything, they're not really in a position for him to be teasing him yet – hopefully.

"I mean," Arthur clears his throat again. "I just wasn't expecting such wise words from you."

Okay, "no teasing Arthur" rule: out the window. It wouldn't be fair if only Arthur gets to tease him.

Merlin flattens his ears and gives his best stink eye. It doesn't help that Gaius teases him for his "stupidity" every now and then, so Merlin's glare isn't as hard because he's used to that sort of comment.

He'll wait for the right moment.

"It's something that the Elder Pack has said before. I'm just reciting it."

Now Arthur gives him a confused look.

"Elder Pack?" he echoes.

Merlin freezes. Maybe he should have teased Arthur after all instead of saying that. It is quiet for a while again.

Arthur shifts, a movement Merlin takes note of.

"They're a legendary pack of dire wolves…" Merlin says under his breath, trailing off.

Arthur raises an eyebrow, prompting him to continue. But Merlin really shouldn't. The Elder Pack is sacred, not really something that humans should know much about.

Just as a precaution.

"I really shouldn't say more about them… it's not safe."

"For me or for the Elder Pack?"

Merlin meets Arthur's gaze for two seconds. Only two seconds.

"Dire wolves, really," he whispers. "The Elder Pack is important to dire wolves… we don't like other species knowing that much about them."

Merlin hopes Arthur will drop it there. He really, _really_ , shouldn't say anymore. He understands if Arthur thinks that the Elder Pack is a danger to him and other humans. They aren't, but it's for the best that humans know only a little if not nothing at all about them.

Thankfully, Arthur seems to let it go, the room falling – once again – into an awkward silence.

" _When is Gaius planning on getting back?"_

"Why did you come here?"

Merlin tilts his head.

"To Camelot," Arthur clarifies.

There is a pause.

"To work for Gaius."

Shouldn't that be obvious. Merlin's arrival had been planned months before he first set foot in Camelot. Surely Arthur heard even the slightest rumor of his arrival. And the reason for him coming.

"Did you know before you arrived," Arthur pauses, as if looking for the right words. "Did you know… my father's view on Magic?"

"I…" Merlin can't completely find the words.

What idiots they must look like. Their conversation keeps finding obstacles, they can't finish their sentences properly, and on top of that: It's a freaking prince talking to a dire wolf. Sounds like something out of folklore. The Prince and the dire wolf part at least, folklore has much more detailed and refined dialog.

"You didn't know he hates magic, did you?"

This time, Arthur actually takes a step away from the wall. Only one step.

What he said isn't entirely false. He…

"I heard rumors," Merlin says quietly. "But my… the village that I used to stay in wasn't all that in favor of magic either. They were okay if it was used for good, but they still didn't like it all that much."

"Did they know?"

This is getting into the uncomfortable zone for Merlin. He loves the village, but he can't deny that somethings just…

"They knew I was different."

This time, the pause is not interrupted until Gaius opens the door much later.

Arthur understands his father's view on magic, he really does. But he always thought that his father was being too harsh. Whenever he asked him ' _why_ magic was bad', Uther just turned his head, saying that he had witnessed the darkness of sorcery. It wasn't a good enough answer, obviously.

Arthur always thought, that just maybe, even without a whole lot of experience in the subject, that magic could be good. Gaius was a lot less biased, but still, just like Uther, wouldn't elaborate why the King thought magic was so undeniably evil. The physician wouldn't even talk about sorcery that much in general; changing the subject expertly.

Arthur sighs once more, lazily stirring his soup. He's only taken one spoonful so far, and that was a while ago.

Across the room, Liam is finishing up the bed. The boy seems a bit more cheerful, now that Gwen isn't to be burned alive. His hands are still splintered and shake every now and then – he nearly dropped Arthur's supper when he brought it in, but saved himself. While Arthur normally finds it a tad bit annoying when Liam obsesses over the smallest details when tidying up his chambers – honestly, he knows that Arthur is only going to mess it up in some way minutes later – he'll let Liam do as he pleases… for now.

If he could, he would have Merlin come here and explain everything more, but the dire wolf is gone for tomorrow, having left when Arthur went back to his own chambers. He'll come back, it was just overall agreed that Merlin should spend some time away from the castle.

Arthur sighs again.

On more than one occasion does Arthur lift his head, opening his mouth to speak to Liam, but he immediately shuts his mouth and goes back to staring at his slowly cooling soup. He can't say anything because the only thing he wants to talk about is Merlin. He wants to just vent, or perhaps that's not the right word. He just wants to talk about – about…

About Merlin being a freaking wizard wolf.

Liam doesn't know, and to be honest, while Arthur doesn't think it would be all that much to tell Liam, he doesn't know how Liam will react. He might keep it a secret, but Arthur – not trying to be mean – doesn't think that Liam would be very good at keeping secrets. The kid's an open book. Anything Liam knows, Arthur knows.

Besides, Liam has already been through a lot today. It would probably be too much for him if he found out that there is not only a sorcerer living in the castle, but that that sorcerer is Merlin. The dire wolf.

Liam notices a number of the times that Arthur looks to him, as if about to say something. But being the obedient and polite manservant he is, he doesn't say anything. He just goes back to… whatever cleaning he's doing.

"Liam," Arthur finally says.

"Yes, Sire!"

Arthur is glad that Liam looks even the slightest bit guilty for how loud he was just now. It wasn't too loud, but still, not a very appropriate way to address the prince. Arthur decides to let it go.

"When you're done with…" Arthur uses his spoon to gesture in the general direction of the clothes in Liam's hands, not looking up from his soup. "whatever you're doing, you can retire for the night."

Liam visibly freezes. He looks to the clothes in his grasp then back at Arthur. The prince still doesn't look up, resuming the endless stirring of his cold soup.

"U-uh… well," Liam stutters. "S-shouldn't I…"

"I can manage everything on my own for the rest of the night."

Arthur gives up on the soup, setting his spoon down on the table beside the bowl.

"You can even sleep in tomorrow."

Liam sets down the clothes a bit too quickly.

"Si-"

Arthur holds up a hand, immediately silencing Liam.

"It's alright. You deserve it."

Arthur finally looks Liam in the face. There is still a nervousness to him, his expression tainted with fear.

Fear of rejection. Possibly thinking that Arthur is firing him.

"You're not in trouble, Liam," Arthur assures him. "I just thought that you should have a break after everything that happened today."

Liam looks a bit more relieved, but he still seems pretty uneasy.

"It won't be too much trouble for me, Sire."

"I insist," he immediately replies.

Arthur stands up, listening to the faint scratching of the padded chair on the floor. He doesn't really feel like eating and is probably just going to get some reading done, or at least try.

"T-then," Liam twiddles with his thumbs a little, clearing his throat before he goes back to organizing the clothes he has laid out. "When do want me to… show up."

Arthur stops to think for a bit, staring at the ceiling.

"The morning after."

Liam is completely shocked. As Arthur walks past him, he pats the boy on the shoulder.

"You can take the day off."

Liam makes a few sounds, nothing coming out as words. Eventually though, he does finish whatever it was he was doing and leaves Arthur in peace as per his request.

Arthur sighs – again – and collapses on the bed.

Truthfully, even if Merlin hasn't done anything wrong, Arthur doesn't know what to think.

He can wait to see what will happen. After all, he wants to prove to his father that not all magic is evil.

Hopefully, Merlin is just the wolf who can do it.

The breeze feels nice, ruffling through his fur. Especially combined with the warm sun on his back. The trickling of the stream, the chirping of the birds and the rustling of the leaves are music to his ears. And the smells…

It smells nothing like the castle or anywhere in Camelot. Merlin didn't realize how much he needed this to ease himself from the events of yesterday and the whole plague in general.

Another breeze blows, taking some leaves and flower petals with it. Merlin raises his snout, smelling the scents that the breeze carries with it.

He sighs happily.

If only he could stay in this moment forever.


End file.
